Domesticity
by tinnie75
Summary: A series of overly sappy and fluffy domestic one shots set a couple of years after season 1. Canon compliant until the end of season 1, if the alternative ending with Jughead moving in with the Coopers actually happened. AKA Betty and Jughead stood the test of time and now they're starting a new chapter of their life
1. Moving in

**I've been sitting on this fic for a while and I feel like this fandom needs some fluff at the moment.**

 **While I have some bits and pieces written already, don't expect any regular updates as it's more of a side project for me. Despite that, I hope you can still enjoy these random bits of Bughead's future life :)**

 **Big thank you to ladybughead on tumblr, for fixing this for me :***

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"And this is the last one," Jughead says triumphantly as he sets a cardboard box on the breakfast bar and wipes his forehead with the sleeve of his flannel shirt. The floor of the shared kitchen and living room area is covered with boxes of various sizes, all waiting to be unpacked. He doesn't remember having this much stuff when they were moving into their college apartment with Archie and Veronica, but back then they had two extra sets of hands to help them. For some reason, today all of their friends seemed to be busy so that left him and Betty to carry everything into their new Brooklyn apartment.

"Great," Betty chirps from the other side of the room. She's wearing a sheer white top and jean shorts, her own flannel tied around her waist, honey blonde hair in a messy bun. When Jughead looks at her, he knows all the hauling of boxes and furniture was worth it. For the first time they'll be living alone without any family members or friends sharing their space and her skimpy outfit makes him think of all the different ways they can enjoy the newly found privacy. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have a smear of dirt across my face again?"

"No." Jughead shakes his head with laughter, walking towards her as a wide smile spreads across his face. "You're perfect. And I was thinking about how happy I am to start this new chapter of our life together," he says and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her into a soft kiss.

To Betty the word perfect always felt like an unachievable expectation rather than a compliment. But she knows it's different coming from Jughead. When he calls her perfect, he means perfect for him. And the more flaws of hers that he discovers the surer he seems to be of that. "Aren't you sappy?" She giggles when they pull apart, already missing the feeling of his lips on hers. They've been together for almost seven years, but not once has she felt her love or attraction for him fading. And just by looking at him she knows he feels the same.

"Yes, I am. And It's all on you. He grins, kissing her again, this time with more urgency and passion until she's gasping against his lips when his hands slide from her waist to cup her butt. Giving it a squeeze as he pulls her closer to him.

"I made you this way as well, right?" She cocks her eyebrow and bites her lip, twisting a piece of his hair around her finger. Except for a few occasions he gave up on his crown beanie a long time ago and Betty enjoys being able to run her hand through his dark locks anytime she feels like it.

"Well, yeah." Jughead smirks at her and leans over to kiss her again, but she quickly pulls away.

"Business before pleasure, Juggie," she says, shoving a box cutter into his hand, moving across the room again and hoping that putting some physical distance between them will stop them from ripping their clothes off and actually allows them to get some unpacking done first. While she likes to pretend she has better control of her urges than Jughead, she knows she's just a step away from telling him to forget about the boxes and instead christen every surface in their new apartment.

"I thought being an adult meant I can choose pleasure first." Jughead twists his lips into an exaggerated pout and folds his arms.

"Well, I have to motivate you somehow." Betty gives him a playful wink, bending over a box extra slowly, knowing his eyes are following her every move. "Otherwise we'll never get things done," she adds, wiggling her ass a little until she hears him gasp across the room and she smirks to herself.

"I'm on it," he says and starts opening the boxes as quickly as possible, uddenly having found the previously missing motivation.

The following morning Betty wakes up to an annoying beeping sound and for a second she's confused where she is. Their bedroom to be is still empty save for a dresser in the corner and the only part of the bed they have so far, the mattress.

She glances at her phone, surprised when it reads 11:07am. She never sleeps in that late and she definitely never sleeps longer than Jughead. But the moving and unpacking the previous day followed by intense love making at night seemed to drain her and send her into a deep sleep. Though not deep enough to sleep through the beeping coming from the kitchen. She quickly grabs Jughead's T-shirt that he discarded on the floor next to the mattress the previous night and pulls it over her head before heading to the kitchen to investigate the source of the sound.

The beeping stops the moment she enters the room and she sees Jughead standing on the breakfast bar, holding a piece of white plastic in his hand. "What's going on here?" Betty asks as, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Did it wake you?" Jughead looks at her apologetically, sticking the plastic back to the ceiling and hopping down.

"Yeah, but that's fine." She waves her hand nonchalantly as a yawn escapes her mouth. "What happened here?" She looks around the room that is still mostly covered by boxes, a few more kitchen supplies pulled out and spread across the counters.

"I was looking for some plates and I guess it took me longer than it took the sausage to catch on fire," Jughead answers simply and points to the sink that is now filled with a pan and a very black looking sausage that is stuck to it. "I went out to get some groceries and I thought I could surprise you with some nice breakfast, but I guess we'll have to stick with cereals this morning."

"Well you got the surprise part right." She giggles and stands up on her tiptoes to kiss him good morning. "Hey," she whispers as she pulls away, finally greeting him properly.

"Hey there," he replies and his eyes slide up and down her body, marveling at how incredibly long her legs look when she's wearing nothing but his shirt. "Can I at least offer you some coffee?" he asks when he's finally done ogling her and holds up the pot.

"Just a sec, need to get the mugs." Betty rummages through a couple of boxes labeled as kitchen, before finally pulling out a matching pair of simple white mugs with words Mr. and Mrs. Jones written in elegant black cursive and setting them on the counter.

"By the way, nice shirt, Mrs. Jones. Where did you get it?" he asks with a smirk as he pours them coffee.

"Why thank you, Mr. Jones," she replies with her warmest smile. "My husband always leaves them lying around. I think he wants me to wear them."

"I'm sure he does."

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 **While I have a lot of ideas for this myself, feel free to hit me up with any prompts that would fit this universe and I'll see what I can do :)**

 **You can always hit me up on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty**


	2. Housewarming Party

**While this week's Riverdale didn't leave me with an acute need of fluff, I hope you'll still appreciate a little domestic something. I'm hoping to bring something related to Thanksgiving next week, so hopefully by writing it here I'll find the motivation to finish it :D**

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"A housewarming party?" Jughead raises his eyebrows, the look on his face clearly saying he doesn't like the idea. "I thought not living with Veronica meant not having to host ridiculous parties anymore."

"I know, I know." Betty sighs. Living with Veronica for four years meant being dragged to and forced to co-host a number of parties that neither Betty nor Jughead really wanted to attend. "But for once I think this is a good idea. You know I've been finding it hard to connect with my colleagues from the new job and maybe if I can invite them to the party they'll finally warm up to me."

"You shouldn't have to do anything extra to make them like you. You're such an amazing woman. They'll soon realize that and love you just like everyone else." He brushes his fingers against her cheek, hoping she knows he means every word.

"Well maybe. But I'd like to speed up the process. Please, Juggie." She bats her eyelashes at him and Jughead lets out a resigned sigh. He has never been able to say no to Betty when she does that and she knows it. Thankfully she only uses it against him on rare occasions.

"Okay. But there better be some real food and not just those tiny little sandwiches that can't keep you full no matter how many you eat." He still remembers how upset Veronica was the last time she threw a party and he managed to eat most of the food before all the guests even arrived. To his defense, she should've known better.

Betty giggles and presses a kiss to Jughead's cheek. "Thank you." She smiles at him sweetly and tries to wipe the trace of her lipstick from his face with her thumb. "You can be in charge of the food if you want."

"I guess there is no better choice."

"Did something happen?" Betty asks when she sees a strange look on Jughead's face as he enters their apartment. It looks like something between confused and terrified and she has no idea what could've caused such a reaction during his short trip to the nearby grocery store.

"I met this red haired middle-aged woman who lives down the hall and I may have invited her to the party," he says as he puts a box filled with wine bottles and various snacks on the breakfast bar. "I don't know how it happened. She saw me bringing the wine bottles and asked what the occasion was and the next thing I know I'm saying she should come over. I'm sorry, Betts, I don't know how it happened."

"It's okay, Juggie," Betty giggles never having seen Jughead so flustered. Well, save for when they first started dating. Somehow the transition from her longtime friend to a boyfriend made the eloquence that he prides himself on so much go completely out of the window. "Housewarming parties should be about meeting your neighbors as well. We've lived here for a month and I think I haven't spoken to a single person in this building."

"Oh, okay." Jughead lets out a sigh of relief, glad that his moment of social ineptness isn't going to ruin the party. It's been a few days since Betty and Veronica started planning the party, but except for having some say in the choice of food he hasn't been given any information on what the housewarming party is even supposed to look like and who should or shouldn't be invited. He still wishes there wasn't any party happening, but since Betty seems excited, he's excited for her and tries to help with the preparation as much as she allows him to.

The party is in full swing and Betty has talked to more people in the past hour than she thought was possible. Perhaps she got a bit overexcited when she started inviting her colleagues. What usually feels like a pretty spacious kitchen and living room area, is now crowded with people making her feel the tiniest bit claustrophobic.

She scans the room for Jughead, feeling like she needs to take a break from interacting with the people she barely knows for a moment. When her eyes finally spot him, he's standing by the breakfast bar with a redheaded woman she has never seen before and Betty's pretty sure it must be the neighbor he accidentally invited. She watches them for a couple of seconds, deciding whether she wants to join them and meet yet another new person or whether she'll just stand by herself for a few more moments to refuel energy for further socializing. Her decision is made quickly when she sees the woman put her hand on Jughead's chest as she throws her head back in an exaggerated laugh. Soon after Betty finds herself strolling across the room, mustering her best fake smile.

"Hi, you must be one of our neighbors my husband invited," Betty says extending her arm towards the woman, while she sneaks the other one around Jughead's waist in a clear sign of possessiveness. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm Betty. Betty Jones." She adds the last name as an emphasis. "How are you enjoying our party?"

The flirty smile quickly disappears from the woman's face as she was apparently not expecting the handsome young man, who has just moved into their building, would have an equally pretty wife. "It's lovely. I wish I could stay longer, but I still have plenty of stuff to do," the redhead says, clearly unhappy to learn of Betty's existence. "It was nice meeting you two."

"Likewise." Betty replies in her nicest fake tone that Alice made her practice back in elementary school and waves the woman good bye.

"What just happened?" Jughead asks, clearly confused about what just went on in front of his eyes. He likes to think he's a good observer and can read people's emotions from their faces, but something unspoken just seemed to happen between his wife and their neighbor and he failed to catch it.

"Oh, Juggie. While the girls in high school weren't all over you for reasons that are beyond me, middle-aged women like our lovely neighbor sure seem to notice what a catch you are," she explains with a slight frown.

"I guess I need to get better at wearing my ring." He laughs, pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arms around her. "Can't have women throwing themselves at me when I am so clearly taken with my lovely and slightly jealous wife, now can I?"

"I'm not jealous," Betty says, feeling slightly offended. Jealousy is for people who were insecure about their relationship. And that doesn't apply to Betty and Jughead at all. "I just want everyone to know that my man is off limits," she adds, pursing her lips. Maybe she's a little jealous after all, but certainly not insecure.

"I'm your man?" Jughead asks with a smirk.

"Of course. Mine and mine alone." She smiles and he dips down to capture her lips with his, wondering what he did to deserve a woman like Betty in his life. Whatever it was, it was the best decision he ever made.

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 **As always, you can hit me up on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty if you have any ideas or prompts you may want to see in this universe.**


	3. Thanksgiving Pt 1

**While we don't celebrate Thanksgiving my country I made an attempt at Bughead celebrating this holiday. This is the first part and the second one will hopefully be posted soon. It messes up the chronology of this series a bit so the chapters following the Thanksgiving ones will probably take place before Thanksgiving but I hope nobody minds.**

 **Happy Thanksgiving!**

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"If someone told me ten years ago that I would ever get to see something like this, I would think they're crazy," Polly says as she and Betty watch Reggie and Jughead playing with the twins. Currently both Jason Jr. and Rosie demand to be carried on the guys' backs, while pretending they're riding horses and fighting with their imaginary swords.

"Because it _is_ crazy," Betty replies with a laugh, gazing at her husband lovingly. She knows just how exhausting her sister's kids are to deal with, yet he never turns down the opportunity to play with them, a genuine smile splayed on his lips the entire time. Uncle Jughead, as they call him, is by far their favorite family member. Especially now that they don't get to see him as often as they used to when they were merely toddlers. "The best kind of crazy. Polly Cooper and Reggie Mantle. Who would've thought?" Betty says with an amused grin. While it's only been a short while since Reggie got down on one knee and asked Polly to marry him, the four of them have been seen as a family for much longer than that.

"Certainly not me." Polly laughs. She and Reggie have been officially dating for almost four years now and sometimes it baffles her just as much as everyone else. "The kids love him and so do I. I guess love can take you by surprise. But I suppose you would know all about that."

"Jug and I have been friends since pre-school. He has always been one of my closest friends. I don't know why it surprised you so much." Betty still clearly remembers the first time she mentioned her sort-of-relationship with Jughead to Polly, shortly after reuniting with her after the weeks they spent apart because of their parents. After a series of questions starting with all the possible interrogative pronouns she concluded with _"I always knew that boy had a thing for you.",_ letting Betty wonder whether she was the only one that was oblivious to his feelings.

"Exactly, he was your friend. A friend giving you heart eyes from the distance while you hopelessly pined for the boy next door. Of course I was surprised by how things changed during the time I was away. I still am a little bit," Polly says with a shrug. "But I get it now."

Betty blushes at the mention of her crush on Archie. No matter how many years pass, she still feels embarrassed about that part of her life. "I think I was too blinded by my childhood crush on Archie. Or rather, what he represented. And when that dream fell apart, I was finally able to see what was right in front of me the entire time." Her eyes lock with Jughead's and he gives her his brightest smile, as if knowing exactly what's she thinking about. When they first started dating, a lot of people were surprised by their relationship, but to Betty nothing ever made more sense. "I guess I have you to thank for that. And Jason," she says after a moment. "Nothing brings people closer than looking for a lost sister and a cold blooded murderer."

"While I'd like to take some credit for you two lovebirds finally realizing your feelings for each other and acting on them, you're meant to be. It would have happened one way or another." Polly smiles, takes a sip of her tea and watches her children quietly for a moment before continuing. "But at least you have a fun story to tell your grandchildren."

"I bet Jug already has a full document of those." Betty giggles, remembering all the times something significant or ridiculous happened just for Jughead to announce _: "This is a story we'll tell our grandchildren."_ "I think he's documenting our whole relationship precisely for that reason."

"Speaking of which," Polly takes the opportunity to transition to a questions she's been dying to ask her sister. "How is married life treating you?"

"It's wonderful," Betty replies, a warm smile spreading across her face. They have only been married for a little over four months but despite all the hardships of a fresh college graduate trying to find their place in the adult world, it's been the best period of her life. Knowing that no matter how shitty her day is at the end of it she can fall asleep safely in her husband's arms fills her with inexplicable happiness.

"No newly discovered annoying habits?" Polly asks with a raised eyebrow. It only took two months of her and Reggie living together before she discovered that he just _loves_ to keep the door open whenever he's visiting the bathroom, no matter if he's alone or if the house is full of people.

"We've been living together since we were sixteen. I don't think there is much that can surprise me now." Betty laughs, hoping Jughead hasn't been hiding any annoying habit he could surprise her with after all those years.

"It's the first time the two of you are living alone," Polly reminds her and Betty has to admit she's right. Living under the same roof with her parents and later moving in with their two best friends during college was a bit different than living alone as a couple. "It's not all just about adult wrestling anytime and anywhere."

"The privacy certainly doesn't suck." Betty bites her lip and a blush creeps up her cheeks when she thinks about how Jughead and she have been enjoying their newly found privacy.

"Well enjoy that while you can," Polly says with a knowing smirk. "Once you have kids, there is no such thing as privacy." As if on cue the twins come surging towards their mother, each grabbing one of her arms as they pull her along, asking her to play with them. "Mommy duties," Polly throws over her shoulder and gives her sister a happy, yet exhausted smile before being rushed to the other side of the living room.

"Either I'm getting old or the twins are already too big for me to carry them on my back," Jughead says as he slowly comes hobbling after them, sliding on the couch next to Betty with a painful groan.

"How about both?" Betty suggests with a giggle as she gently rubs Jughead's back, feeling his muscles relax under her touch. "You know, you can always just say no. We shouldn't spoil them too much."

"To them?" Jughead raises his eyebrow as if unable to believe what she has just said. He thinks Betty really must be the most fearless person he knows. "With the fiery Blossom hair and intimidating Cooper stare, I don't think anyone will ever dare to say no to them."

"Is that why you can never say no to me either? Because I intimidate you?" Betty cocks her eyebrow to match his and grins at him.

"No, that's just because I love you," he answers honestly as the softest little smile spreads across his face. He knows he sounds like the biggest cheesiest dork but he can't help himself.

"You're such a sap." Betty giggles and his arms wrap around her waist, molding into her curves perfectly.

"Just. For. You," Jughead whispers, meeting her lips in a languid kiss. His back pain quickly forgotten as he pushes her into the perfectly arranged throw pillows and for a moment they both forget all the hustle and bustle of holidays and family gatherings, only focusing on each other.

"The dinner is ready!" Alice's sharp voice brings them back to reality and for once Jughead wishes the food could wait.

"Tonight things were surprisingly..." Betty starts as they're walking to the house next door, one of her arms holding a plate of pumpkin pie tightly to her chest while the other one is linked with Jughead's.

"Calm?" Jughead finishes for her with a chuckle. "I guess my dad not being there to antagonize your mom helped that a lot."

"I don't want him to feel like he can't spend holidays with us," she says, feeling a small pang of guilt. She hates keeping the two sides of her family apart, but due to some ridiculous conflict between her mother and FP that happened recently, they decided it might be better if they weren't in the same house for several hours at a time. "But my mom makes it... difficult."

"Trust me, he doesn't mind." Jughead squeezes her arm gently, trying to reassure her it's in everyone's best interest if their parents stay apart. "I'm pretty sure he prefers watching the game with Fred while stuffing himself with turkey over trying to remain polite through a four course meal and failing."

"Would you prefer it?" Betty asks, wondering whether Jughead only suffers through the formal Cooper dinners because of her. Despite her mother's attempts at perfection it's not the kind of relaxing family time one would hope for, but ever since moving to New York permanently, Betty feels like she needs to get the most out of the time in Riverdale and mainly time with Polly and her kids.

"Have you ever seen me watch football?" he answers with a question of his own and they both laugh at the idea.

"Well you came to most of the games in high school."

"I certainly wasn't there to look at a bunch of jocks sweating their asses off in an attempt to assert their dominance. A particular blonde cheerleader in a short skirt on the other hand..." he trails off with a wink and Betty feels her cheeks getting red for a reason other than the cold November air. "Anyway, your mom's cooking is amazing and for some reason she actually seems to like me. So that paired with you by my side the whole time makes the two hours of wearing smart clothes and trying not to make too many sarcastic comments that would get me kicked out of the house more than worth it."

"I don't know how I used to go through these dinners without you, but I'm glad I don't have to anymore." She smiles at him sweetly and he leans down to kiss her, their lips barely brushing against each other when the front door of the Andrews' house opens, startling them both.

"C'mon kids, enough of the making out on my porch. We're all waiting for that famous pie," Fred says with a laugh and ushers them inside.

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 **I also made a little insta edit to go along with these Thanksgiving chapters you can check it out here: post/167749345085/domesticity-betty-jughead-thanksgiving-part**

 **I'll be posting more insta edits as the story goes on so if you're interested follow me on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty everything related to this story is under the tag 'domesticity'**


	4. Thanksgiving Pt 2

**Thank you everyone who left a response to the previous chapter. As promised, there is a second (and last) part about Thanksgiving while the spirit of this holiday is still in the air. Hope you enjoy :)**

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"What are you doing?" Betty asks in a whisper when Jughead wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her flush against him. They've been lying in Betty's childhood bedroom for over half an hour and while she couldn't shut her mind down, as per usual after spending too much time with her mother, Jughead appeared to have fallen asleep. Now, however, he seems more awake than ever.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Jughead smirks, his fingers tracing the waistband of her pajama bottoms, eager to pull them off.

"We're not having sex in my parents' house," she hisses, but can't stop a small smile from forming on her lips as she grabs his hand to stop him from teasing her. "It's too weird."

"It certainly wouldn't be the first time." Memories of quiet whispers and hands eagerly yet awkwardly exploring each other's bodies in this exact bed flood his mind, bringing a smile to his face.

"But we're not horny teenagers anymore."

"I feel like one every time I look at you," he murmurs against the skin of Betty's neck, pressing feather light kisses from her jaw to her collar bone, making her emit an involuntary sigh of satisfaction. Maybe there is no way to stop him from teasing her, but she doesn't exactly mind.

"We don't live here anymore." Betty's breath hitches when his lips latch onto her pulse point. "You wouldn't want to have sex at someone else's house."

"You're underestimating my yearning," he says as he pulls away a little to look in Betty's eyes. "Besides we're married now and to everyone's surprise, your mom has been fine with this for quite a while."

"I still can't believe she actually sat us down and said she allowed us to have sex in this house if we were being safe. It was the most awkward conversation ever." Betty covers her face as she remembers the talk Alice gave her and Jughead when they were seventeen. Jughead had been living with them for almost a year when she caught them making out behind the closed doors of Betty's room. And while Jughead expected to have to pack his bags right that moment, Alice seemed to take a very surprising approach. Knowing that the two teenagers were sneaking around, trying to get the most of the little bit of privacy they were given, she sat them down and announced she would no longer try to stop them, as long as they promised to be safe. The monthly pregnancy tests she made Betty take were just an awkward reminder.

"She saved us a pretty penny with that giant box of condoms she got us. And boy did we get a good use out of them. I just wish she never asked me if the size she got was okay." He says, the memory making him cringe even years later.

"As if it wasn't weird enough already," Betty mumbles, her face still covered with her hands.

"Just wait until she starts pushing us into giving her grandchildren." Jughead jokes, though a part of him is certain it won't be long before something like that happens.

"Do you ever think about it?" Betty asks and finally lowers her hands, ready to move on from the conversation about her mother.

"Your mom wanting us to have sex? Not a topic I like to think about."

Betty lightly smacks his chest with the back of her hand, but laughs. "I mean kids."

"Yeah," he admits with a small smile. "All the time."

"Really?" She raises her eyebrows in surprise. For some reason Betty assumed she was the only one fantasizing about kids. Though she knows how much Jughead values family, she didn't expect him to think so far head. Not yet anyway.

"I mean, not like I want them right away. But I wonder what they're gonna be like," he says, his fingers brushing the skin of Betty's hip as his mind wanders to the fantasy he's been building in his head for years. A fantasy that is slowly becoming reality and is even better than he ever could've hoped for. And while usually he doesn't tend to plan too far into the future, since he spent a big portion of his life living in uncertainty, family with Betty is the one thing he allowed himself to hope for. Even if it could take years to get there. "Sweet blonde angels like their mom?" he wonders out loud as he brushes his fingers through Betty's hair. "Or cynical antisocial weirdos like their dad?"

"I'll love them even if they're cynical antisocial weirdos. What's one more, right?" Betty answers with a giggle and Jughead kisses her softly, hoping it can convey just how happy her words make him.

"Only one though?" he asks once their lips separate. "I've always imagined at least two kids."

"Oh, yeah, definitely more than one." Betty nods eagerly, the image of their family forming in front of her eyes. Betty, Jughead, at least two kids and maybe even a pet or two. They wouldn't try to be perfect, she still hates that concept, but they'd learn from their parents' mistakes to make each other as happy as possible. "There is nothing like having a sibling."

"Yeah," Jughead replies with a sad sigh. While he has been able to spend more and more time with Jellybean in the recent years, he will never forget his mother for forcing them apart and not allowing him to see her for a whole year after they moved away. Persuading Gladys to let his sister visit him for a week is just one of many reasons why he'll be forever thankful to Alice Cooper.

"We won't let anything separate them," Betty says as she rubs his arm in an attempt to comfort him, knowing exactly what he's thinking about. Being forcefully separated from Polly for a few agonizing weeks made her swear to never put her own children through anything like that. "Little Forsythe the fourth and Forsythia the second won't have to suffer through the things we did." Betty bites her lip in effort not to laugh when she sees the mix of emotions playing out on Jughead's face.

"We're not calling them that!" he exclaims huffily even though he knows Betty is just baiting him.

"I thought it was the Jones' family tradition," she says with an innocent little smile.

"Jelly and I decided that this tradition ends with us. She's actually considering changing her name after her eighteenth birthday. Maybe I should've done that as well."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was looking forward to having to make up even weirder nicknames for our kids than you two have." Betty laughs, but she's only half joking. To her there is something endearing about the Jones siblings having their own special nicknames. Even if they're almost as ridiculous as their real names. "And just for the record, I think your name suits you."

"In what way? Ugly and difficult to deal with?"

"Do you think I'd have married you if I thought you were ugly and difficult to deal with?" She folds her arms and purses her lips, acting offended by his question.

"Good point." He chuckles. "Though I still don't quite understand why you ever fell for someone like me."

"I guess I have a weakness for someone who is a genuinely nice, caring and loyal guy and who has been proving he loves me for years. Sue me." She sticks out her tongue at him playfully and yelps out suddenly when he wraps his arms around her and pulls her on top of him, bringing her mouth to his for a heated kiss.

"I'll continue proving that until the day I die," he whispers and kisses her again, their lips moving against each other until they're both breathless. "And we will still give our children weird embarrassing nicknames. That's one tradition I won't give up on."

"Well we better start practicing," Betty says, bringing her lip between her teeth as she eyes his body hungrily in the dim light of the bedroom.

"Practice giving nicknames?" He squints at her, playing dumb and Betty rolls her eyes.

"Baby making."

"I thought you didn't want to do that here," he says, but his hands are already back on her waist, ready to pull her shirt off.

"I do. You'll just have to keep quiet. I don't need my parents to know."

"Oh, I don't think I'm the one who has trouble keeping quiet." He smirks up at her before bringing her lips back down to his with no intention of making her stay quiet that night.

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 **As always, you can come and check out my tumblr iamdarkandtwisty to either send me prompts or check out the tag 'domesticity' for insta edits related to this story or if you simply want to chat to me**


	5. Shower For Two

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed or shared this story. I really appreciate all the feedback and response :)**

 **I hope you'll like this little chapter.**

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"Oh my god, yes." Betty gasps as Jughead's fingers gently move across her skin in small circles, sending shivers down her spine. She thought she has felt Jughead's touch on all parts of her body, but this is a whole new experience.

"You enjoying this?" Jughead asks with a cocky grin, pressing his fingers slightly harder and the satisfied groan that leaves Betty's lips is a good enough answer for him. He's made her elicit these noises in many different ways before, but it never grows old.

"Why haven't we done this before?" she asks after a moment, running her own fingers through Jughead's thick hair, making sure to get the shampoo evenly distributed everywhere. For such a purely innocent activity as hair washing, it feels strangely erotic but she's certainly not complaining.

"Well, the shower in our previous apartment was barely big enough for two. Though despite that I'm pretty sure Archie and Veronica had sex in there. After that, I tried to limit my time there to the bare minimum." He shudders, still clearly remembering the day when he entered the bathroom, assuming it to be empty, just to find his friends in a very compromising position. They tried to apologize, saying that they weren't _really_ doing anything, but Jughead decided that the best way to go about the situation would be to pretend it never happened. Still, it made every shower he took there after that very uncomfortable.

"Ewww." Betty scrunches up her face as the image of her two best friends having sex in their shared shower pops into her head. "Why didn't you tell me? Do you know how much time I spent in there?"

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you. They ruined that peaceful place for me and I didn't want to do the same for you." He shrugs, finding his explanation perfectly logical.

"I don't know if not knowing is better or worse." Betty shakes her head with laughter.

"From my experience, it's better. I don't even want to imagine where else in the apartment they had sex."

"Maybe on the kitchen counter," she suggests and Jughead's face twists in disgust.

"Oh, god." He shuts his eyes tightly, trying to get that image out of his mind. "I hope not. Not near my food."

"Aren't you being a bit of a hypocrite now?" Betty grins and to her surprise Jughead's face grows red. For someone who is a self-proclaimed weirdo loner outsider his confidence levels are usually pretty high and it seems impossible to make him blush.

"Well... I wasn't alone," he says defensively. "Besides we made sure to disinfect everything. We're not animals."

"I don't mind when you let your inner beast out a little," she whispers into his ear and runs her soapy hand across his chest and down his stomach, pulling it away as she hears his breath hitch when she trails it across his happy trail. There is a devious twinkle in her eyes and he pulls her in for a hungry kiss, the innocent shower taking a more passionate turn.

"You haven't seen the half of it," he murmurs against her neck, his teeth lightly grazing and biting the sensitive skin as his hands roam her body until she's gasping again.

"Not here." She breathes, putting all her willpower into pulling away. She should've known that Jughead couldn't keep his mind off sex for long with her naked body right in front of him. And she feels weirdly proud of it. "Despite what Archie and Veronica do, shower sex is... not good."

"Really? How would you know?" Jughead cocks his eyebrow and now it's Betty's turn to flush. It's not that she has the need to go searching for ways to spice up their love life, but sometimes curiosity gets the best of her. Shower sex, however seems better and much less dangerous in fantasy than reality.

"Research," she mumbles and casts her eyes down but Jughead is quick to lift her chin back up again to look deep into her eyes.

"I love research. Does it suggest any better places?" He smirks at her playfully and he rests his other hand on her hip, his thumb drawing small circles on her wet skin, making her shiver.

"Plenty." She bites her lip and gives him her best seductive look. Maybe those articles that her female colleagues were so eager to share wouldn't need to go to waste. "Wash this out of my hair and maybe I'll show you."

"Maybe?" His eyebrow shoots up in question once again.

"Depends on how good you make the hair washing." She teases and turns her back to him, turning the shower on again.

"I'll do my best."

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 **As always, you can come and check out my tumblr iamdarkandtwisty to either send me prompts or check out the tag 'domesticity' for insta edits related to this story**


	6. A bad day

**Did anyone miss this story? I know it was supposed to be a side project but it kinda became my main project so I feel bad for sitting on this chapter for a while. But you know how it is when things get busy. I hope you enjoy :)**

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"Hey, Betts, how was your…" Jughead greets Betty from the couch when he hears the front door opening, but the original question gets stuck in his throat the moment he sees her. "What's wrong?" Jughead asks in alarm when he sees the tears staining his wife's face as she enters the apartment. He's by her side in an instant, his eyes searching hers with concern, horror scenarios entering his mind. "What happened?" He runs his gaze over her multiple times and breathes a sigh of relief once he's sure she's not physically hurt.

"It's nothing. It's stupid." She tries to brush it off. She had been fighting tears successfully for hours, but the moment she got into the elevator up to their apartment she could no longer hold them in. Betty spent several minutes trying to compose herself before coming inside, not wanting to worry Jughead, but despite her attempt he sees right through her and she breaks down in sobs as he pulls her into a hug.

"It's not stupid if it made you cry," he whispers into her hair and guides her towards the sofa, pulling her down with him and tucking her into his side, his arms firmly wrapped around her thin frame. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just... had a terrible day. At work." She sobs into Jughead's shirt, feeling stupid for overreacting to something that most people probably deal with daily. But Betty Cooper has always been too hard on herself. And even though she's Betty Jones now, that hasn't changed. "The editor in chief told me I need to scrape the whole article I've been working on for a week, because it doesn't fit the theme." She puts air quotes around the last three words, trying to dry the tears off her face with the back of her hand, but they keep falling down quicker than she manages to wipe them off. "And then when I tried to pitch some of my ideas to her, she said I might be in over my head and should leave that to more experienced editors." Her voice wavers and she breaks out into another wave of sobs. She spent the whole day fighting tears, not wanting to give her boss another reason to criticize her, but now in Jughead's arms she's unable to stop.

Jughead listens to his wife intently as he rubs circles on her back, willing her to calm down. It breaks his heart to see her cry, especially when he can't fix whatever is bothering her. "Betty, baby," he says, gently stroking her face, making her look up. "You're so smart and wonderful and passionate about your job. Don't let them bring you down because they're not willing to see it."

"I don't even know what I'm doing wrong." She hiccups. "It's like nothing I write or come up with is good enough for them. They keep treating me like a child. Like I don't know anything. And I'm not allowed to do anything. Not allowed to learn." Betty's breathing getting shallow, her heart beating faster than it should and she's sure she's diving head first into a panic attack. She hasn't had one in months and an optimistic part of her hoped that being done with full time education would only make them less frequent. Little did she know that starting her first proper job would pull her right back into feeling stressed, worthless and like she doesn't belong there and has no control over any of it. The very things that have always been causing her anxiety.

Jughead feels Betty stiffen in his arms, the sound of her quiet sobs replaced by shallow breaths and he knows what's going on well before he sees the panicked look in her eyes. "Betts," he says gently, taking her hands into his and pressing them against his chest. "Follow my breathing. Slowly in an out, okay?" Betty nods, trying to follow the rising and falling of his chest, imitating the action herself. She can hear Jughead talking to her in a calm steady voice but she doesn't register any of it as the world around her becomes a blur, the tears running down freely as she desperately tries to breathe. She's not sure how much time has passed, could've been seconds or hours, but eventually she feels the panic subside, the uncontrollable energy inside her body suddenly replaced by exhaustion.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Jughead asks quietly once he feels her body relax a little. All he wants to do is hug her and shield her from the whole world, making sure nothing ever hurts her again. But he has seen this happen enough times to know it's better to ask and not assume Betty's needs.

"Can you just... hold me?" she whispers and Jughead pulls her closer again, letting her head rest on his chest.

"Always." He smiles as he presses a soft kiss to her hair and she wraps her arms around his torso, snuggling as close to him as possible and falling asleep within seconds.

"Oh, honey, I'm flattered but you didn't have to," Jughead says with a grin as he points to the bouquet of flowers in Betty's hands, glad to see that today there are no tears staining her cheeks.

"Then it's good I didn't." She smirks, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips before pulling out a vase, filling it with water and putting the flowers in, wondering what would be the best place for them. "I saw these on the way home and thought I could treat myself to something pretty."

"Is this a subtle way of telling me I should buy you flowers more often?" Jughead cocks his eyebrows in question and Betty giggles.

"No. But feel free to do that any time. It certainly won't make me mad." She eventually decides to set the vase on the coffee table before she walks back to the kitchen area and wraps her arms around Jughead's waist, peaking over his shoulder as he stirs something on the stove. "What are you making? It smells amazing."

"Spanish style chicken with tomato sauce," he answers simply, pouring some spices into the pot before resuming to stirring it vigorously.

"Ah, the only meal my mom refused to teach me." Betty laughs and hauls herself on top of the kitchen counter next to Jughead, watching him intently. There is something about men in aprons that makes her hot and tingly. Or perhaps it's just Jughead.

"She said there should be something only I can cook in our household, so I can feel needed or something." He shrugs, not quite sure what Alice's intention was, but he appreciates she imposed some of her cooking knowledge on him. While living with his parents, they often had to resort to frozen ready-to-cook meals or TV dinners. After moving in with the Coopers, he found out that home cooked meals didn't require spending half of your paycheck and that cooking a meal from scratch felt so much more rewarding. So, when Alice offered to teach him and Betty how to cook some basic meals before they went off to college, he was more than eager to learn.

"My mom has a strange way of thinking."

"Yeah," Jughead chuckles, puts the lid on the pot and wipes his hands on his apron, going through the steps once again in his mind to make sure the meal will turn out the way it's supposed to. "How was the session? Feeling any better today?" he asks placing his hands on the counter, one on each side of Betty, looking up at her lovingly. While she shares everything with him, he knows there are things he can't help her with. Issues she better discuss with a professional. While he may not have any solutions for her, he still wants to show his support.

"Much." Betty nods, smiling at him and leans over for a soft kiss. Words cannot describe how happy she is to have him by her side during times like these. Times when she feels like she's going a bit crazy. "I guess with moving here, starting a new job and signing up for those online classes I was pushing therapy aside when I shouldn't have. Stuff kept piling up and yesterday broke the camel's back. I'm sorry I freaked out." She sighs and casts her eyes down, feeling a blush spreading across her cheeks. While Jughead knows all about her mental health issues, she still feels a bit embarrassed whenever they resurface in the way they did the previous night. As if afraid that after everything she may still scare him away.

"Betts," he says as he puts his finger under her chin, making her look up and meet his eyes. "In sickness and in health, right?" he asks and Betty nods, the sunken expression replaced but a tiny smile once again.

"I love you so much," Betty whispers as she wraps her arms around Jughead's neck, pulling him closer to her.

"God, I hope you do." Jughead laughs, pressing his forehead against hers and bringing his hand to cup her cheek, stroking it softly. "Because I'm madly in love with you."

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 **As always, you can find me on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty**


	7. Merry Serpent Christmas

**Once again, I've been meaning to post this sooner as I have a bunch of other Christmas related chapters I want to do, but well, life happened so we may be celebrating with Bughead for a while. So whether your celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you can appreciate some Bughead fluffiness.**

 **Special thank you goes to bugheadjones-the-third for helping me with the idea for this chapter (if you haven't read her fics what are you even doing here? go read it and you can come back to mine later) and of course my girl ladybughead for taking the crap I send her and fixing it into something more presentable.**

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"Honey, I'm home," Betty announces cheerfully when she enters the apartment, but one glance towards the couch tells her that something is wrong. Jughead is sitting in his usual position, hunched over his laptop, but instead of his hair sticking out to all sides as it usually does when he's writing and constantly messing with it, today his head is covered with his old crown beanie. And while just a couple of years ago he used to wear it religiously, nowadays he only wears it in situations when he feels like he needs an extra barrier of protection from other people. So, seeing it covering his head even though he's sitting in his own apartment has Betty worried.

"Do you want to talk?" Betty asks once she put her stuff away and walks towards the couch, resting her hand on Jughead's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

Jughead shakes his head as a quiet, _"No,"_ falls from his lips and Betty is ready to retreat to the kitchen and give him some space when he extends his arms towards her, inviting her to sit next to him. She sidles up to him as he puts his laptop away and pulls her into his side, burying his face in her hair. For hours this was all he wanted to do, to remind himself that at least some of the things in his life are going the way he wants.

"Can I take this off?" Betty asks softly as she runs her finger along the edge of his beanie and Jughead gives her a little nod. She slides the hat off his head, replacing it with her fingers as she runs them through his hair.

He relaxes into her touch instantly, as she knows he would, and just a moment later he speaks up: "My mom called," he says and Betty already knows that can't mean anything good. Over the years Gladys has attempted to reach out about three times, but each time it only drove a bigger wedge between her and Jughead. "She doesn't want JB to come over for Christmas," he continues and the heartbreak is apparent in his voice. She has put him through a lot considering the sudden abandonment, when he wasn't even sixteen, and turning him down when he was at his lowest, but the one thing that Jughead can't forgive his mother for is trying to separate him from his sister. While the internet and frequent phone calls allow him to keep up with her life, there has only been a handful of times over the past few years when he was able to actually spend time with her in person. The last time being at his wedding, now almost five months ago.

"Oh, Juggie." Betty lets out a sad sigh and wraps her arms firmly around his chest, squeezing him with all her might. She knows just how much he was looking forward to spending Christmas with his sister. After Betty's parents decided that now that both of their daughters officially left the nest, they would spend the holidays somewhere tropical and after Polly and her little family got invited to London to spend Christmas with Cheryl, Betty and Jughead decided to do their own family gathering, inviting both FP and Jellybean to New York.

"I just... Thought we could all be together for once. All the people I care about most." His voice sounds so broken and Betty shuts her eyes tightly, wishing she could take at least some of his pain away.

"We'll still have the best holidays yet. I'll make that happen. I promise," she says with determination, the wheels in her head already turning. Christmas is her favorite holiday ever, but it means nothing if Jughead isn't enjoying this time of the year with her.

"Betts," Jughead sighs but smiles a little. She's so determined and he loves that about her, but he doesn't want her to worry about him and whether he's having the time of his life. "You don't have to do anything for me. As long as we're together, nothing can go wrong."

"Don't!" Betty raises her hand as if trying to stop him from jinxing it. "You said that our freshman year of college and you know how that turned out."

A low chuckle escapes his throat at the memory. "As if I could ever forget that."

 **4 years ago**

"What is she up to?" Betty asks in a whisper, leaning closer to Jughead while her eyes don't leave her mother who is carrying a plate full of cookies towards them with a smile that is wider and faker than any Better has ever seen. They barely finished eating the Christmas dinner when Alice ushered them to the living room, insisting they have some cookies and coffee.

When FP tried to thank her for dinner and leave the house as quickly as possible, something Betty could totally understand, to everyone's surprise instead of encouraging him, Alice pushed him towards the couch and insisted he stays. Betty shot Jughead a surprised look, but he just shrugged and pulled her closer to him as they both sat on the couch. The only people who managed to escape this ordeal were Polly and her kids, as she claimed the twins need to make it to bed on time even on Christmas Eve. Never before has Betty wished she was the one to get pregnant in high school, but now she'd give anything to have an excuse to leave early.

The whole evening was getting progressively more and more awkward and Betty started to wonder whether she's the one who started it all. Even though she meant well. When she first proposed inviting FP to spend Christmas with them, Alice couldn't be more adamant about it being a bad idea. It was the first Christmas since FP got out of prison and it was important for Jughead to spend this holiday with him. And after three years of celebrating with Jughead, Betty couldn't imagine it any other way so inviting FP over seemed like the obvious choice. The Coopers could easily afford to fill in one more seat at the dinner table and after Betty threatened she would go spend Christmas Eve with the Jones men at the Sunny Side trailer park, Alice finally caved. However, her constant jabs at FP covered by fake niceness and forced smiles during the whole dinner made Betty extremely uncomfortable and Jughead's hand on her thigh was the only thing keeping her from jumping out of her seat.

"In general? Probably hoping to take over the universe," Jughead jokes and gives Betty's shoulder a light squeeze, but the crease between her eyebrows only deepens when her mother glances towards the clock, as if waiting for something instead of joining them on the couches. "Relax, Betts. I bet it's nothing that..." he gets interrupted by the sound of the doorbell and all the heads turn towards the front door, wondering who could be coming over on Christmas Eve. It's not like there have been any carolers in the past ten years.

"I'll get the door," Alice says a bit too enthusiastically and once again Jughead needs to hold Betty down to prevent her from rushing after her mother.

Just a moment later Alice is back in the living room, two men and one woman trailing after her, but instead of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters like the rest of the family, including FP, they're dressed in leather jackets with the Serpent logo embroidered on their backs.

There is a moment of silence as everyone exchanges various looks from confused through agitated to amused, the last one coming from FP, while Alice leads the Serpents further into her home.

"You've done well for you, Al. I'm not surprised you ran from the Southside as fast as you could," one of the Serpent says, sliding into an empty armchair and grabbing a gingerbread cookie of the tray that Alice brought just minutes earlier.

"Oh, it's nothing." Alice waves her hand nonchalantly and pours three cups of coffee for her guests, ignoring everyone's inquisitive stares.

"Mom, what is all this?" Betty asks when she can't hold her question in any longer, demanding to know how three leather clad gang member made their way to their house on Christmas Eve. Especially after Alice made such a fuss about inviting FP over.

"Honey, you said you wanted FP to feel welcome here tonight. So, I've invited some of his friends," Alice says as if the answer is totally obvious.

"You know I don't run with the Serpents anymore," FP's voice is calm but the look in his eyes indicates that he's up for anything that Alice may try to throw at him. Much like Alice herself, he hasn't been too enthusiastic about spending Christmas with her and Hal, but he wouldn't dare to ask Jughead to pick between Christmas Eve with the Coopers and his own father. Especially since the former option includes his girlfriend. While the complicated relationship between the father and son improved vastly during FP's time in prison, he knows he could hardly compete with Betty for his affection.

"Snakes don't shed their skin so easily. Isn't that what you said?" Alice cocks her eyebrow at him as if challenging him.

"You've been trying to shed yours for thirty years. Am I not allowed to do the same?" He raises his eyebrow to match hers, accepting the unspoken challenge.

"Good point," one of the Serpents mumbles as he shoves another cookie into his mouth.

"Mom?" Betty prompts her mother to explain, but Alice is too invested in her verbal match with FP to notice her daughter's questioning look.

"Allow me to doubt that," she says, crossing her arms. "You've always been so proud to be a Serpent."

"Weren't you? Hoping to be called the Serpent Queen one day," FP scoffs. "I remember it as if it was yesterday."

"He's right, Al," the female Serpent says. "With your sharp teeth and quick tongue, we all thought you were gonna be our leader one day. Even after you ran away with the Ken doll here." She flicks her finger towards Hal who has been silently observing the conversation until now. "We didn't expect you to keep up this charade for so long." Betty seems ready to jump out of her seat and demand that someone explains what's going on, but when she looks at Jughead he's just shakes his head and pulls her closer, indicating for her to stay out of this exchange. There will be time to ask questions later.

"Hey!" Hal growls at the woman, but comes up short when trying to defend his marriage.

"You share your bed with a Serpent, Hal. You should be used to the bites," FP snickers and all the three Serpents join him until Alice shuts them up with her glare. "Or does she just hiss at you these days?"

"Shut it, FP." Alice snarls. "You had your chance and passed on it."

"I'm glad I did!" FP fires back.

Jughead's eyes dart rapidly between his father, Alice and the three Serpents as he shoves cookies into his mouth with one hand, the other resting on Betty's shoulder. He knows Kevin would be jealous of him getting the front row seat to what seems to be an Alice-FP stand-off but he's failing to keep up with the conversation as he keeps glancing at his girlfriend, whose brows are furrowed, trying to make sense of the scene in front of her.

Betty follows the whole exchange intently, but all the new information along with the amount of questions popping up in her mind is making her head spin. Was her mother really a Serpent? What exactly is the history between her and FP? What is she trying to achieve by bringing the Serpents over?

"I'll go get some more cookies from the pantry," Betty says suddenly with a wide smile that Jughead immediately recognizes as fake and bolts out of the living room. She doesn't think she can spend any more time there without going crazy.

Jughead spends a few moments contemplating what to do and when he sees that no one is paying him any attention anyway, he sets out after Betty.

"Betts," he whispers softly as he enters the small room used as a pantry, not wanting to startle her. Her eyes are closed and she's leaning against a tall shelf, her hands gripping the edges so tight her knuckles are turning white. Jughead's eyes slide to her hands and he's relieved to see she's not digging her nails in her palms, but this isn't that much better.

"I'm fine," she replies to Jughead's unspoken question, but he knows she's everything but.

"Betty." He steps closer and places his hands on her arms, drawing small gentle circles with his fingers in an attempt to release the obvious tension from her body. He's grateful to Alice for a lot, but her actions making Betty feel this way is not something he can ever accept.

"Why does she always try to ruin everything?" Betty asks and when she opens her eyes, they're filled with tears, threatening to spill down her cheeks. "All I wanted was for her to act civil for one evening so you could spend time with your dad and I could spend time with you. Is that too much to ask?" her voice wavers and she wonders whether it really is too much to ask of her mother. Alice has been trying to make Betty pretend she's the perfect nice girl next door for over a decade, yet she herself can't manage it for one evening.

"Hey, if this is about my dad, you really don't need to worry. He may not say it directly, but I think he's enjoying this game that your mom is playing at least as much as she does," Jughead says with a tiny smirk, hoping it comforts Betty at least a little. While he does want his father to have a good time, he doesn't want Betty to take the responsibility for that. Their families are crazy to say the least. And while at nineteen many would call him naive or simply stupid for believing it, he knows or hopes, that Betty and him are forever. Complicated family relationships are just something they'll have to deal with.

"I just don't want him to be uncomfortable. It's his first Christmas since he got out of prison and I wanted to make it nice for him. For both of you," Betty's voice is soft and so full of care, Jughead feels like he could drop down on his knees and ask her to marry him right there and then. His daydreams are quickly put to an end as Betty continues, her words tumbling out more quickly than before. "Instead my mom turned this into a gang reunion. A gang she was a part of! Can you even believe that? She obviously went through such lengths to hide it and she decided to throw it all away just to spite your dad? On Christmas of all days!" Betty rambles on, barely stopping to take a breath. During the past three years the relationship with her mother has been slowly getting better. Their family would never be normal, and that's excluding the fact that her parents decided to foster her boyfriend, but by the time Betty and Jughead left for college things were normal enough. Now, just a few short months later it's like everything went back to the way it used to be and Betty feels like Alice's behavior is suffocating her.

"Betty." Jughead squeezes her shoulders a bit harder, trying to stop her from spiraling. "Breathe," he says with an amused smile. Despite his girlfriend's worries, he can't help it but focus on how cute she is when she gets all passionate about trying to make this Christmas as enjoyable as possible. Before they left New York, she told him she wanted them to have the best holidays yet and even though Jughead said all he need was to spend time with her and his dad, she stayed determined. "I know this whole day is turning more than a little crazy, but that's beyond our control. And that's okay."

"I don't like things being out of my control." She crosses her arms and pouts in a dramatic fashion.

"I know." Jughead chuckles. "But in some weird way our parents seem to be enjoying the evening. So, we should too." She can see the playful spark in his eyes as his hands move to her waist, his thumbs slipping under her Christmas sweater and lightly brushing her skin. The tips of his fingers are cold, but Betty's skin feels on fire everywhere he touches her and she's quickly craving more. They've been back in Riverdale for only four days but barely spent any time alone, which makes every single touch feel more intense than usual.

"What if they're still waiting for the cookies?" Betty asks suddenly just as Jughead leans closer in an attempt to kiss her.

"I doubt they even noticed we're gone." He lets out a low laugh. Of course, Betty is thinking about others before thinking about herself. She's an angel hiding under an ugly Christmas sweater. Except even the sweater doesn't look ugly when she's wearing it. _God, how did I ever deserve her?_

"Good," Betty breaths and pulls Jughead's lips to hers, her hand slipping into his hair while his tongue slips into her mouth, quickly making her forget why she was hiding in the pantry in the first place. Their kisses grow urgent and just a moment later he's pressing her against the door, preferring it over the old rattling shelves.

"Yes," Betty mumbles as Jughead's lips trail down the column of her neck and he smirks against her skin, biting it just enough to get a reaction from her, but not hard enough to leave a mark. They still have a few more days left in Riverdale and he doesn't need Alice to give him the stink eye.

Betty wraps her leg around his waist, pulling him closer and grinding their hips together and they both let out deep satisfied moans, suddenly glad for the obnoxious Christmas songs that Alice put on muffling the noises they neither can nor try to stop from escaping. "God, Betts," Jughead growls, not sure if he's trying to encourage her or stop her as his mind and body are telling him two different things. Their parents are just a few feet away, which should be reason enough not to do this, and Betty smells and tastes like cookies and that argument may actually be stronger. For Jughead anyway.

Betty's reindeer sweater is pushed halfway up her chest, Jughead's hand inside her bra when Alice's sharp voice pierces their ears and they spring apart, feeling like they're sixteen again, sneaking around the house for a quick make out.

"Elizabeth, don't forget the chocolate biscotti. They're Viper's favorite."

"Don't worry mom, I've got them," Betty calls through the door, grateful her mother didn't decide to come into the pantry herself. The whole evening is awkward enough even without Alice walking in on them like this. Though it still wouldn't be the most uncomfortable moment.

"Oh, and Jughead, bring some more sparkling water for your father. His unsuccessful attempts to roast me have left him quite parched."

"Will do, Mrs. C," Jughead chokes out, the color of his face easily matching the red of Betty's sweater that she now pulled back down, much to his disappointment.

"How does she always do this?" Betty growls, her face twisting in annoyance.

"She must've put some tracking device on us while we were asleep at some point," he jokes and presses his lips softly to Betty's again, hoping to kiss the frown off her face. Knowing that Alice is lurking nearby, very much aware of what they were doing in the pantry, there is no way they can resume where they left off but Jughead would still like to spend a few more moments alone with his gorgeous girlfriend before they have to reenter the war zone that is the living room.

"Yeah, some chips that detect us having fun so she can come and ruin it," she mutters and starts searching for the cookies. She most definitely doesn't want to go back to the living room, but knows that if she doesn't, it'll most likely lead to a lecture from her mother about how to behave around their guests. Not that Alice is showing the best example. "You coming?" Betty asks with a sigh once she loaded all the cookies in a small basket.

"I uh... may need a second," Jughead says, casting his eyes down and his face burns up once again.

Betty's eyes travel below the waist of Jughead's pants and she lets out a small giggle before catching her lower lip between her teeth and winking as she leaves the pantry.

"Not helping," Jughead calls after her and shakes his head with laughter.

 **Present**

"It wasn't all bad, though. But with your mom not being here and keeping the number of former gang members present to one, I think we have a very good chance at making this one much better," Jughead says with a hopeful smile. He may not be able to spend the holidays with his sister, but he knows Betty will make sure they all have a good time.

"We will." She beams up at him and presses a soft kiss to his lips. Betty Jones has just made it her goal to give her husband the best Christmas yet and this time she'll make everything in her power to accomplish it.

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 **As always, you can find me on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty I'll be posting some insta edits that go with this story later on.**


	8. Christmas cookies

**The holiday period may be coming to a close for us, but it's only just starting for Bughead. I hope you're not sick of Christmas stories or cookies yet :)**

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"If you keep stealing the dough, there won't be any left for the cookies," Betty warns, slapping Jughead's hand away as he attempts to inconspicuously reach inside the bowl.

"But..." Jughead tries to come up with an adequate excuse, but comes up empty. After all, there is no proper reason for him to do it other than the apartment smells so good and Betty has yet to let him taste anything, which in his eyes is the worst kind of torture and he doesn't remember doing anything to deserve it. "I'm a growing boy," he says finally at which Betty just rolls her eyes.

"Now maybe if you tried an excuse you haven't already used twice today and pretty much every day, I may take pity on you." Betty shakes her head laughing.

"C'mon, wifey, it's Christmas time. Don't let your husband suffer." Jughead rests his chin on her shoulder, his mouth watering as the delicious smell of the cookie dough wafts into his nose.

"Wifey?" Betty turns her head around and raises her eyebrows. They're not big on pet names. Most of the time they're just Juggie and Betts, with 'babe' or 'baby' thrown in once in a while. Perhaps 'love' when Jughead is being overdramatic. But 'wifey' is certainly new.

"You don't like it?" He pulls away slightly, as if worried it could've offended her.

"No, I do. It's kinda cute." Betty smiles. At first glance nobody would take Jughead for a hopeless romantic, but he never fails to surprise her with sweet little gestures demonstrating his feelings. It's often incredibly cheesy and so unlike everything he usually stands for, but that only makes her love it more.

"Not as cute as you," he whispers and presses a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Jones." Betty chuckles, but they both know that's not true. A few sweet words or some puppy eyes and she would agree to anything he wanted. Thankfully, the same goes for Jughead.

"Oh, won't it?" He cocks an eyebrow at her before shoving a piece of the cookie dough into his mouth and giving her a wide grin.

She gapes at him for a second, trying to figure out at what point he managed to sneak his hand into the mixing bowl without her noticing. "You're unbelievable. Trying to distract me with compliments." She shakes her head, feigning what is supposed to be a frown, but instead a smile breaks through.

"It's delicious," Jughead mumbles with his mouth full.

"You're gonna make yourself sick and I won't even feel sorry for you," Betty says in a warning tone, but Jughead only grins at her.

"It may just be worth it."

Several hours and five different types of cookies later the whole apartment smells like Christmas as the scent of vanilla, cinnamon and gingerbread spreads from the kitchen. After a few more successful attempts at stealing the cookie dough, because he simply had to try all kinds of cookies in their raw state, Betty banished Jughead to the office, telling him to stop procrastinating from writing his newest book. Knowing that his wife is better at making decisions than he is, he listened to her and tried to get to work, the smell sneaking beneath the door teasing him.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Jughead pokes his head out of the office door when he hears Betty calling him to the kitchen.

"Are you scared?" Betty asks with laughter.

"Well you did threaten me with a wooden spoon."

"Yet it didn't work." Jughead just smiles and shrugs, the look on his face both apologetic and triumphant.

"But I thought you may want to help me now."

"I'm always up for taste testing if that's what you need." He smirks at her, pretty sure that taste testing is not what Betty needs, but hoping anyway.

"Haven't you done that enough already?" She raises her eyebrow, as if challenging him to say he hasn't had enough.

"Well not the finished product," Jughead says, eyeing the different kinds of cookies that are spread across all counters as well as the dining table as he walks further into the room.

"I meant whether you'd like to help me decorate them." Betty suggests steering the conversation back on track.

"You sure?" Jughead asks surprised. "Not that I believe in such thing, but your mom always says it's a strictly women's business. I wouldn't want to interfere with the tradition."

"She only told you that because she thinks that you and dad are too clumsy for her perfectly decorated cookies." Betty rolls her eyes, once again glad that this year her mother isn't around to micromanage the Christmas preparations and she can finally do things the way she's always wanted.

"Oh." Now this makes more sense to Jughead than Alice assigning tasks based purely on their gender. Not that one can ever look for much logic behind her decisions. "Well, then I'll be happy if you help me get rid of my cookie decorating virginity."

"Don't worry. I'll be gentle." Betty smirks at him and hands him a piping bag.

Less than an hour later, Jughead finally seems to be getting the hang of it learning to apply just the right pressure on the bag so the frosting doesn't end up everywhere. When Betty teases him about the way his tongue pokes out in concentration when attempting to apply the sprinkles in the exact place he wants, he just sticks his tongue out at her dramatically, before taking a bit of the frosting on his finger and smearing it on her face.

"Hey!" She bats his hand away a bit too late, two sticky lines adorning her cheek.

"Oops," he says with a smirk that indicates he's not sorry at all. Instead he just picks up the piping bag again, this time aiming for Betty's nose.

She quickly catches onto his plan and moves out of the way but she's not fast enough and the frosting ends up dripping on her sweater instead. "Oh, just wait. You'll pay for this." She pretends to be mad as she jumps out of the chair, pointing her own piping bag at Jughead. He tries to move out of the way, but she quickly straddles him, trapping him in his chair. "Say you're sorry," she threatens, holding the bag above his forehead.

"Never." Jughead shakes his head, daring her to take the next step as he locks his eyes with hers. She hesitates for a moment and he can see her contemplating her next move. That proves to be a fatal mistake when he grabs her hand and points the piping bag into his mouth, squeezing a bunch of the frosting out. Betty shakes her head with laughter before he pulls her in for a sweet sticky kiss. "Mmm, you're sweet as sugar," he mumbles against her lips, making her giggle and their little food fight is quickly forgotten when she kisses him again.

While taste tasting cookies is great, decorating them might have just become Jughead's new favorite Christmas activity.

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 **As always, you can find me on tumblr - iamdarkandtwisty**


	9. Christmas Eve

**While in our world it's almost New Year's Eve, in Bugheadland it's still only Christmas Eve. I hope you enjoy a bit more Christmas fluff.**

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"Is this really necessary?" Jughead asks with a groan when Betty shoves an article of clothing commonly known as an ugly Christmas sweater into his arms, demanding he wear it.

"Juggie, you've been grumbling about it for over five years now. You know it is."

"Yeah, but then we were spending Christmas with your mom. She's not here this year." He knows it's a feeble excuse. Betty loves the tradition of ugly Christmas sweaters at least as much as Alice. But a part of him hopes that without his mother-in-law present, he may somehow get out of it.

"But it's the Cooper family tradition," she insists.

"Well the Jones family tradition is to get drunk and pass out before we get to eat our microwaveable dinner, but I'm not trying to enforce that," he mutters bitterly.

"Jug..."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to ruin the mood. I just..." He immediately feels guilty for saying that. He knows how much Betty loves Christmas and he doesn't want to ruin her day with his negativity. After all, she's been trying her best to recreate the holiday atmosphere she's used to from living with her parents. Atmosphere that Jughead himself grew to be a fan of.

"You're upset your mom didn't allow JB to come," she finishes for him. While he's been trying not to talk about it since his mother broke the news to him, knowing dwelling on her decision wouldn't change anything, Betty noticed his mood progressively decreasing as Christmas Eve approached.

"Yeah," he says with a sigh. He doesn't want to sound ungrateful. Like spending Christmas with Betty and his father isn't enough. He probably shouldn't have gotten his hopes up about his sister coming. Being too optimistic usually only leads him to disappointment.

"Well maybe..." Betty starts but gets interrupted by a knock on the door. "That must be your dad. Please put this on and get the door."

Jughead lets out one more disgruntled sigh as he looks at the sweater. Knowing he won't be able to say no to Betty if she really tries to make him do it, he reluctantly pulls it over his head before walking towards the front door. At least it doesn't have any sequins or other 3D objects sewn onto it. So, it could be a lot worse, he'll give her that.

"Merry Christmas," FP greets him in an unnaturally cheerful voice that has Jughead wondering whether the man in front of him is really his father.

"Hey, dad," Jughead says, rubbing the back of his neck as he steps away from the door to let him in. FP however doesn't move and instead a dark-haired girl appears next to him, wearing a wide smile.

"Won't you greet me too?" she asks and before Jughead has a chance to reply she rushes forward and flings her arms around his neck.

"Jellybean?" Jughead's breath gets caught in his throat as she launches herself at him, enveloping him in a tight hug.

"I'm happy to see you, but I'll strangle you if you call me that one more time," she laughs.

"How?" is the only word he can form, still unable to believe his little sister is really in his arms.

"Betty," JB says when she finally wiggles out of Jughead's embrace enough to be able to breathe. "She called mom and convinced her." They both turn their heads toward the blonde who just gives them a sweet smile.

"Betts, how did you..."

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Betty interrupts him before he even gets to finish his question. Guilt tripping his mother into letting her daughter come over is not the type of conversation she wants to have at the moment.

"You're right. But why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to get your hopes up in case something went wrong after all. I was only sure this was happening once your dad texted me he picked up JB at the train station. And at that point, I thought I may as well keep it as a surprise," she explains with a shrug. "Are you mad?"

"Mad?" Jughead furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Sure, he usually hates surprises, but did Betty seriously think he would be mad about this? "This is the best Christmas present in... ever. God, I love you so much."

Before Betty has a chance to respond his lips are on hers, his arms pulling her as close to him as possible. The kiss is soft, yet intense as Jughead tries to convey just how grateful he is for what Betty did for him.

"Woah, you two, get a room." JB lets out a low whistle and smirks at them while FP continues to pretend he's captivated by the strap off his duffel bag.

"Sorry," Betty whispers as she pulls away from Jughead, her cheeks matching her red Christmas sweater.

"Feel free to continue as long as you point me to some food first and do that in private." JB smirks.

"Jones through and through." Betty giggles and pulls JB into a hug. "It's so good to see you again."

"You too." Jellybean smiles at her sister-in-law. "For the record, I'm thankful you persuaded mom to let me come, but I'm not gonna stick my tongue down your throat to prove it."

"Ummm... thank you?" Betty laughs, slightly taken aback my Jellybean's response. "It's wonderful to see you too, Mr. Jones," she says with a wide smile as she gives FP a hug.

"Betty, how many times do I have to tell you to call me FP?" FP warns her jokingly, making her laugh.

"Sorry."

After they're all done exchanging hugs and greetings, Betty decides to retreat to the kitchen to get some snacks and hot drinks ready while letting Jughead catch up with his dad and sister.

"Do you need any help?" JB asks as she joins Betty in the kitchen area.

"Sure. You can stir the hot chocolate so it doesn't burn." Betty points at the sauce pan on the stove and JB immediately assumes her position by the stove.

"Jug is really happy to have you here." "I know what you told mom," they both start speaking at the same time and laugh, before Betty motions to her sister-in-law to continue. "I know what you told mom," she repeats again before continuing, "and you were right."

"Maybe but..." Betty shakes her head, focusing on stacking the cookies on the plates rather than on the brunette next to her. "I think I went too far."

"You didn't." JB places a reassuring hand on Betty's shoulder. "She needed to hear that. Mom may act like she tries hard to reconnect with Jug, but she doesn't understand him at all. He doesn't care about her excuses or apologies, all he wants is..."

"To have his family together," Betty finishes for her with a sigh and Jellybean nods.

"So, if you calling her a cold hearted bitch is what it took to achieve it, I won't judge you. Instead I'm thankful." JB gives her a smile, one that is almost identical to Jughead's, and Betty feels a weight lifted off her shoulders. Maybe sometimes the end really justifies the means, but she'd rather not have to do things like this again.

"Betty, I have to say this is the best Christmas dinner I've ever eaten," FP says, sitting down on the couch with a grunt. One would assume that a Jones' stomach can never get full, but FP feels like his daughter-in-law may have just achieved the impossible. "Better than your mother's even."

"Thank you, FP." Betty gives him a humble smile. "Just don't tell her that or she'll throw a fit."

"One more reason to do that." FP grins.

"Please, don't." Jughead rolls his eyes and slides on the opposite side of the couch, pulling Betty next to him. "We don't need one of you to get arrested again now, do we?"

"So, what exactly is the history between you and Mrs. C?" JB asks as she joins them, carrying a plate of cookies. While she hasn't had the opportunity to see them interact with her own two eyes, she's heard enough about their peculiar relationship for it to peek her interest.

"Oh, kids, that's not the kind of story for Christmas Eve." FP laughs, knowing it will only leave them even more eager to find out. But some stories are better left in the past. "And I'm pretty sure Alice has her own, very different version of it."

"Can we not talk about my mom?" Betty asks, snuggling into Jughead's side. She talked to her mother on earlier that day and Alice's attempts to manage Betty's Christmas Eve through the phone left her with enough interaction with her for the rest of the year.

"Well what do you suggest we do, babe?" Jughead asks, gently running his fingers through Betty's hair. She decided to let them loose and lightly curled for the dinner and if Jughead wasn't too skeptical to believe in such things, he would wonder whether she's an actual angel.

Betty contemplates her options for a couple of seconds. "We should take some pictures." She jumps up from the couch excitedly, ignoring the quiet grumbling of the two siblings and their father, while she pulls up the camera app on her phone. "C'mon, scoot a little closer," she prompts them. "Okay, that's almost perfect. Just a little..."

"But what about you?" Jughead interrupts her when he realizes she has no intention of being in the photo.

"I thought I would take a Jones family picture."

"You are a Jones," he reminds her with a smile.

"C'mon, Betty, we need someone pretty in the photo to even out Jug's ugliness. I can't do it on my own," Jellybean says with a grin.

"Hey!" Jughead tries to elbow her in the ribs, but she grabs his arm, twisting it painfully.

"Calm it, kids," FP reprimands them, feeling like it's the kind of situation he was supposed to be dealing with five years ago, not now. Then again, five years ago he was still dealing with his annoying cellmates.

"Well, my arms aren't long enough to take a photo of all of..." Betty starts to protest, but then as if a light bulb goes off in her head, she rushes to the drawer dedicated to random junk that doesn't belong anywhere. Because yes, even Betty with her perfect sense of organization has one. "Ha! I told you it would come in handy one day!" she announces triumphantly as she pulls out a selfie stick, connecting it to her phone with a few quick taps on the screen.

Jughead can't help it and rolls his eyes though he knows Betty is right. While he considers a selfie stick a crime against photography as an art, as long as it allows them to get a decent family picture, he won't complain.

With her phone firmly attached to the stick, Betty wedges herself between Jughead and his sister and puts on her bright practiced smile. Just as she presses the button to take the photo, Jughead pokes her in the ribs making her giggle.

"Jug," she swats his hand away. "Don't ruin the photos."

Jughead takes her phone from her and pulls up the series of photos she just took glad for the burst mode function, hoping there won't be need for another take. He'd much rather stand behind the camera than in front of it, though he has to admit he likes the idea of capturing this memory. Who knows when his whole family will be able to meet like this again. "I think," he says as he zooms in on Betty and him, her posed smile washed away by the fit of giggles he caused her while he gazes at her lovingly. "That these are pretty damn perfect."

Betty looks at the photo and her lips spread into a wide smile. Jughead is right, the photo is perfect. And this time, the word doesn't bother her at all.

* * *

 **You can find me on tumblr - iamdarkandtwisty**


	10. Christmas Morning

**It might be a bit late for that, but it's finally Christmas Day for the Jones family. I hope you enjoy this chapter despite the festive season being mostly behind us. Warning: might be just a bit too cheesy.**

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When Christmas morning comes, Betty can barely contain herself. She's been up for over an hour now, tossing and turning, trying not to wake Jughead up and hoping to go back to sleep for at least a little while. But she knows that's not gonna happen.

While some of the things she went through in her teenage years made her grow up way too fast, her excitement about Christmas has always stayed the same. It's the one day in the year when even her mother's smile seems less fake.

As the first sun rays finally peak through the curtains, Betty slides out of bed, pulling the blanket over Jughead's shoulders to keep him warm and as quietly as possible she leaves the room, heading straight for the kitchen.

Their apartment is rather small and doesn't have another bedroom, so while Jellybean gets to sleep on an air mattress that barely fits between the bookcase and the desk in their tiny home office, FP has to occupy the pull-out sofa. Betty feels bad when she sees his legs hanging off the edge, wishing she was firmer in her attempt to get him to take her and Jughead's bed. Her mother would've surely scolded her for not being a better hostess. Then again, Alice would probably let FP sleep on ground, if for no other reason than to start another argument with him. Their relationship being strange to say the least.

She quietly moves across the room and not even half an hour later the air is filled with various delicious smells. While the bacon is sizzling in a pan, Betty is mixing a pancake batter, trying to decide whether to add blueberries or chocolate chips. Both ends up being the obvious answer as it's the easiest way to sneak some vitamins into Jughead's diet without him grumbling about it.

Knowing that her husband is not the only Jones with a coffee addiction, she starts the coffee maker and watches the pot fill with dark liquid, when the sound of coughing startles her. She got so engrossed into preparing the breakfast she forgot about FP sleeping just a few feet away from her.

"What time is it?" he asks, his voice low and laced with sleep.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Betty says apologetically. "It's only eight."

"I could never complain about waking up to the smell of bacon." He laughs, sitting up in his makeshift bed and stretching his body slowly.

Betty giggles, remembering Jughead using the same exact words on more than one occasion. "The breakfast will take a minute. Would you like some coffee in the meantime?"

"Yes, black, please."

"Like father like son," Betty chirps with a smile as she pours the coffee.

"Don't let Jug hear that. I'm pretty sure he wants to be as much unlike me as possible," FP mutters, though he doesn't blame Jughead for those feelings at all. He too would prefer his son to bear little to no resemblance to him as he can't think of many things he'd like to pass down to him.

"He... may want to steer clear of some of the paths you've taken. But he loves you. And he has forgiven you."

"I haven't even forgiven myself," FP says with a sigh and takes the cup from Betty. "My boy has a really big heart. I don't deserve his kindness."

"That he does." A wide smile spreads across Betty's face. While Jughead's relationship with FP has never been easy, there has never been any doubt about the son's love for his father. Even in the hardest of times. "But he only opens it to the people he thinks deserve it. And that includes you. Don't turn away from that." Betty places a hand on his shoulder and gives him an encouraging smile. In that moment FP understands how the blonde girl captured his son's heart so easily. Just one tiny smile from her makes him want to be a better man. Makes him feel like he can be a better man.

"Thank you, Betty. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter-in-law."

When Jughead wakes up that morning, for a moment he's surprised by the lack of warm body pressed against his. A quick glance at the clock tells him it's only a few minutes after eight and it takes him a couple of seconds to realize it's Christmas Day, which perfectly explains his wife's absence from his arms. She loves Christmas and he could feel her vibrating with excitement from the moment they settled into bed the night before. He also knows that on this day she can never sleep past 6 am, but desperately tries to stay in bed at least until the sun comes out.

He still remembers his first Christmas with the Coopers like it was yesterday. Betty barging into his room at 7am on Christmas day, wearing her festive pajamas and a wide grin. She looked so adorable. So innocent. It was hard to believe that just two nights before they had been in the same room, her lying underneath him, whispering dirty things into his ear as her hands had roamed his naked body.

He's not the only one with layers, not even back then. Jughead smiles at the memory as he scrambles out of bed, the faint smell of bacon and coffee luring him out.

He stops in the doorway as he notices his father and Betty talking in the kitchen and watches them for a few moments. They're speaking in hushed tones so he can't make out what they're saying, but the sight alone is warming his heart. He never had to worry that FP wouldn't like Betty. Everyone loves Betty. But knowing about his troubled past, about the ways he made Jughead's life difficult, Jughead was afraid Betty would have a hard time warming up to his father. He feels silly about it now, as it only took a couple of visits to prison that Betty accompanied him to, before she announced that one day she would get them to fix their relationship, so Jughead could have the family he deserves. Back then he thought she was in way over her head. His family has always been messed up. No amount of her meddling could fix that. But now he thinks about the previous evening and can't stop a big smile from spreading across his face. She actually did it.

"What are you grinning about?" Betty asks, finally catching the sight of Jughead from across the room.

"Just... thinking." He shrugs and by the time he walks towards her she's already handing him a cup full of steaming coffee.

"About something nice?"

"Mhm." He nods his head. "You."

"What a cheeseball." Betty giggles and rises on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips, but Jughead has other intentions as he wraps his free arm around her waist and she lets out a little gasp, allowing him to slide his tongue into her mouth.

"I'm gonna go wake Jellybean. Don't mind me," FP mutters more to himself than anyone else, leaving the two love birds alone for a bit before another day full of family activities can finally start.

"Thank you, Betty. I love this," JB squeals as she holds an item of clothing that neither FP nor Jughead can quite identify to her chest.

After a hearty breakfast the Jones' gathered around the Christmas tree, exchanging presents in turns. There weren't many, but all of them were appreciated with big smiles.

"And now, for my last gift..." Betty passes a smallish but rather heavy box to her husband.

Jughead weighs the gift in his hands, trying to guess what it could be before opening it, but comes up short. He didn't ask for anything, the socks and T-shirts that he knew Betty would give him and eventually steal from him being good enough. "You didn't have to."

"You don't even know what it is. Open it." Betty prompts him, nervous to see his reaction.

"Betts..." the words get stuck on his lips when he opens the box and sees a digital camera. From what he can tell, it's not the newest model, but he's sure it still cost a lot. Definitely more than he thinks he deserves.

"I know what you're thinking." Betty rises her finger to his lips, knowing he'll try to protest and urge her to return the gift. "But I got it second hand so it was a real steal. I know how much you enjoyed that photography class you took last year. And I know you wouldn't want to spend that kind of money on yourself. So please, let me."

He's still not sure what to say, as a simple _thank you_ doesn't feel adequate enough. So as in other situations when his words fail him around Betty, he takes her face in his hands and kisses her, hoping the movement of his lips against hers can convey his feelings well enough. "I love you. So much. Have I told you that?" Jughead whispers once their lips separate, his hand still cradling Betty's cheek and he's pretty sure he's grinning like an idiot. But for once he doesn't care what he looks like because he's just so damn happy.

"Only about a million times," Betty says with a giggle and presses their lips together once more.

"Ugh, I'll get diabetes from watching you guys," JB mutters but smirks and Betty quickly pulls away from her husband, her cheeks flushed.

"Don't worry, Jelly, one day you'll find someone and look at them like a love sick puppy just like Jug does." FP grins and ruffles her hair while she shoots him the typical "Stop embarrassing me, dad!" glare.

"Okay, my turn," Jughead says, hoping to divert the conversation from his sister's potential love life. In his mind she's still no more than eight and shouldn't be thinking about boyfriends. "It's not much but... Merry Christmas, Betty." He gives her a shy smile and hands her a rectangular present precisely wrapped in a plaid wrapping paper. He's been working on her gift for several weeks, but after what she's just given him, it feels inadequate and he rubs the back of his neck nervously waiting for her to open it.

She carefully removes the wrapping paper, revealing a dark blue leather-bound book with _"Betty and Jughead"_ written in an elegant cursive. "What is this?" Betty asks, running her fingers across the golden embossed letters on the cover.

"Open it and you'll see."

As Betty turns the first page a big smile spreads across her face. The first thing she sees is a photo of her, Jughead and Archie when they couldn't have been more than six years old, their hands and faces covered in finger paint. Underneath it is a picture of them in Halloween costumes and next to that one of the three of them building a snowman. The next few pages are covered in similarly themed photos, the three friends captured doing various activities throughout the years, bringing up all the fun memories of their carefree childhood. Some photos have little comments written next to them, explaining the situations captured in the photo. _"That time you knocked out my baby tooth and cried about it."_ says the one scribbled next to a photo of Betty and Jughead hugging, her face red and stained with tears while he grins at her, showing the newly empty space in his mouth.

"I felt so bad about it." Betty laughs as she remembers that day. They were ten and she was showing Jughead some moves she learned in a karate class when she accidentally hit him in the face, knocking out one of his last remaining baby teeth. Needless to say, after this incident Alice decided there would be no more karate classes for Betty.

"That tooth had to go one day." Jughead shrugs. It didn't bother him any more then as it does now, so instead of crying about it, he had ended up comforting Betty who was ridden with guilt.

She continues to leaf through the book and notices there aren't that many photos of them from their early teens. Betty wonders whether there simply weren't many moments worth capturing or whether there just weren't many moments in general. Her face falls a little as she remembers the years when she and Jughead managed to gradually grow apart as her focus shifted to Archie, while Jughead kept to himself more and more. She wishes she could go back to her fourteen year old self and tell her how blind she was for not noticing the boy who only had eyes for her all along. But if she did, things may not have been the same way they are today. And she wouldn't change that for anything.

Betty's eyes lit up again as she turns the page over, noticing the obvious change that came with their sophomore year of high school. Suddenly the pages are littered with various photos of her and Jughead, from selfies they took, trying to outdo each other in who could make the silliest face, through photos from different dances they went to together, to photos she's never seen before, taken by their friends while they weren't looking at the camera and instead gazing at each other lovingly.

The next few pages cover everything from their high school graduation through their college years, pictures they took with their friends and a few more silly selfies, all until college graduation from just a few months ago.

And then, as she turns the page over once more, her heart stutters. _"The best day of my life."_ Jughead's commentary at the top of the page says. Underneath there are several photos from their wedding day. Their first kiss as husband and wife, their first dance and a few more from the reception, each of them capturing the happiness and love they held for each other perfectly. Just as in love back then as they are now.

She quickly blinks a few times to stop the tears from falling and ruining the photos and turns to the next page. There is only one photo there and she recognizes it as taken just a few months ago. Betty's wearing Jughead's shirt and holding her Mrs. Jones mug in front of her face, the number of cardboard boxes in the background indicating it's from the first morning in their new apartment. Back then she tried to stop Jughead from taking a photo of her, saying she looked like a hot mess, but now she's smiling at the memory. As she glances at the next page, she realizes there are no more photos and instead there is a small post-it in the middle with _"to be continued"_ scribbled on it.

When she finally looks up from the book, her eyes are filled with tears but her lips are curled into a wider smile than she thought was possible. "This is the best and most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given to me," she says and this time a couple of tears manage to escape, but Jughead quickly catches them with his thumb as he strokes her cheek.

"You're the best gift ever given to me," he whispers and captures her lips with his in a slow deep kiss. This time when JB calls at them to cut it out, neither of them cares.

It really is the best Christmas yet.

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone who reads and comments. As always you can find me on tumblr under iamdarkandtwisty.**


	11. Family day out

**While you may say it's not Christmas anymore, the Jones family still enjoys some post-Christmas winter activities. I hope you enjoy reading about them :)**

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While the Jones family spent the Christmas Day lounging inside, watching Christmas movies and stuffing themselves with cookies the day after that Betty and Jughead decide it's time to get out of the apartment and show Jellybean and FP a bit of New York in its Christmas glory. After all, it's also their first time spending the holidays there, not having traveled to Riverdale this time and it would be a shame to spend the time inside.

That's how on the afternoon of December 26th the four of them find themselves on their way to the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, hoping for some fun family time before both FP and Jellybean have to head home the following day.

"Oh, I can't wait to put on the ice skates again. It's been years and I might be a little rusty, but I bet it's still just as much fun." Betty is practically skipping next to Jughead, swinging their intertwined hands. While it's not technically Christmas anymore, the excitement still hasn't worn off.

"Well I can't wait to buy a hot dog and some nice hot tea to keep me warm as I watch you from a safe distance."

"No, no, no." Betty shakes her head as the soft waves peeking out from beneath her hat bounce around her face. "There is no way you're sitting this out, Jones. We voted and you lost. So you have to participate," she reminds him. "Maybe if you had picked something better, we would've gone there."

"How was I supposed to know none of you wanted to go to the Museum of food and drink? At least it's warm there," he mutters and pulls his beanie tighter over his ears. While he doesn't have the need to wear it on everyday basis anymore, it's still useful at protecting him from the cold and after a bad case of laryngitis last winter, Betty made him a matching scarf to go along with it. Complete with tiny embroidered crowns along the bottom. But not even the thought of his then fiancée lovingly making a gift for him is enough to keep him as warm as he would be if they had went to the museum. "Besides I don't even really know how to skate."

"C'mon, Jug, I'll teach you. It's gonna be fun," she says, the excitement in her voice not wavering one bit.

"Well what if I fall and someone slashes my wrist with one of their blades? You're too young to be a widow," he protests, the scene already playing in front of his eyes. His lifeless body lying on the blood covered ice as Betty cries over him, wishing she supported his choice to go to the museum, if only to save his life.

The gruesome image quickly fades away when he hears his wife's soft giggles. She clearly isn't imagining the same scene in her head. "I think the possibility of that is so small it's not even worth worrying about."

"But you do agree it's possible." Betty rolls her eyes but laughs and squeezes his hand a little tighter, as if to say _"Don't worry, I won't let you die."_

"Are you ever not trying to be a killjoy?" JB interjects, no longer able to listen to Jughead's complaints without saying anything. Despite communicating with her brother mainly through texts and phone calls, she's noticed numerous times that he has the tendency to deliberately see the glass half empty. Not that it's much of a surprise given their rough upbringing. Just one of the reasons she finds his relationship with Betty strange, yet oddly perfect.

"Umm... that's kinda my style," Jughead tries to defend himself. "Brooding, negative, heart of stone..."

"You cried at your wedding. Any style you think you have is gone," she says and Betty tries to stifle her giggles, failing miserably. She shoots her husband an apologetic glance, but finds herself agreeing with Jellybean. Despite what he tries to portray himself as, on the inside Jughead is a big softie.

"Shut up, Forsythia." Jughead retorts and she shoots him a death glare for using her real name. "I could hear you sniffling all the way to the altar. Besides, why should the bride be allowed to cry and not the groom? I was marrying the love of my life as well."

"C'mon, Jelly, leave your brother alone," FP interrupts them and takes his daughter's arm to get her to walk next to him. "No need to let him know he's not as cool as he thinks."

Jughead opens his mouth to say something, but promptly closes it when Betty tugs on his hand, urging him to stop. "You're cool enough for me." She smiles and stands on her toes to press a warm kiss to his cheek, Jughead's face instantly lighting up.

"JB and your dad seem to be getting along nicely," Betty says after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. I wasn't the only one who managed to get closer to him when he was behind bars than when we lived together." When his father was arrested for Jason's murder Jughead was devastated. Especially since even upon finding out that he wasn't guilty of such a heinous crime, he would still have to serve time. However, as ironic as it sounds, it was the best thing that could've happened to FP. Spending almost three years in prison not only helped him sober up but also aided in reconnecting with his kids. "With dad finding the occasional construction job in Toledo, my mom hasn't exactly been able to keep them apart. It all seems to work out."

"JB told me she's applying to several colleges here in New York. Maybe in a few months there won't be anything to keep you two apart either." Betty's tone is hopeful, but while Jughead knows all about his sister's intentions, he doesn't want to get his hopes up too much. He's sure Jellybean is smart enough to get into any school she wants, but he worries she may not be as lucky at getting a full scholarship as he was, causing her to have to pick a school that's less than what she deserves.

"I hope so." He sighs, but smiles, wrapping his arm around Betty's shoulder and pulling her closer to his side. "Then I would have all my favorite people here with me."

While going skating together was meant to be a group activity, once they arrive and get their skates they go their separate ways. FP quickly skates away from them, reliving the short period of time back in high school when he was a part of the Riverdale ice-hockey team while JB stays closer to the side, brushing off her skills and warming up.

"I don't think this is a good idea at all," Jughead says as he steps on the ice, his legs immediately feeling like they're made of jello as they wobble underneath him. It's not his first attempt at ice-skating, but even his ten year old self who was a lot more confident and fearless when trying to learn this skill wasn't able to successfully tackle it in that one afternoon FP had to teach him.

"Don't worry, Juggie, it's a lot less difficult than it feels right now. With my help you'll be skating like a pro in no time." Betty gives him a wide smile full of encouragement and while Jughead appreciates her enthusiasm and unwavering belief in him, he's more than aware of his limited abilities.

"All I ask for is for you to help me not break my neck. I think it would make eating difficult," he jokes, trying to mask his worries with humor even though Betty can see right through him. She always can. So she takes his hands into hers, giving him one more reassuring smile and slowly starts pulling him forwards, trying to get him used to the feel of the skates sliding over the ice. Her own legs are a bit shaky at first, but after a few seconds she feels like she's thirteen again, making her way through Riverdale's ice rink with confidence.

"I promise I won't let you..." before she has a chance to finish her sentence, Jughead's leg slips from underneath him and he comes tumbling down, pulling Betty on top of him in the process. "Are you okay?" she asks with a groan, lifting her head from his chest slowly. Maybe it's not as easy as she imagined after all. "Juggie!" she shrieks out in alarm when he doesn't respond, his eyes closed, his body lying still. "Jug…"

"You know, you shouldn't make a promise you can't keep." He grins up at her and Betty breathes a sigh of relief. The few seconds of Jughead's silence terrifying her more than she's been in years.

"You scared me!" Betty hits his chest, not sure if he could even feel it through all the layers but trying anyway. "Don't ever do that again. It's not funny."

"I told you something like this could happen. And you didn't believe me," he teases.

"That's not something to joke about." Her lower lip starts to wobble and Jughead instantly regrets his prank when he sees the tears gathering in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Betts. I was just being stupid. Come here," he says and pulls her closer to him, peppering her face with tiny kisses until a small smile appears on her lips again, before he presses a more heated kiss to her mouth.

"Oh, c'mon, lovebirds. There are kids around," JB's voice brings them back to reality as she skates towards them and they quickly pull apart, or at least as apart as they can get with Betty still straddling Jughead and trapping him against the ice. "They don't need to know where they came from," she continues with a teasing smirk but holds out her hand to Betty to help her up before they both haul Jughead back up on his feet. "Maybe try to stay closer the boards," she says to Jughead before skating away.

"She... may have a point," Jughead admits reluctantly as he attempts to stay on his feet with Betty's help without bringing her down with him again.

"Okay, maybe I didn't make you a pro, but we did manage to do one lap without you toppling over or having to hold onto anything but my hand."

"I hate that that's considered a success," Jughead mumbles with his mouth full. After two hours and several falls he finally gets to enjoy the hot dog and tea he's been looking forward to the whole time.

"Oh, Juggie, there is no shame in not being able to pick it up quickly. Most people learn it when they're kids. It's more difficult when you're older," Betty tries to console him as she rubs his cheek with her thumb.

"Yeah, Jug, don't be a sore loser. Some people, like you, just suck at these things," Jellybean teases him with a smirk. "We can't all be smart _and_ good at sports, right Betty?"

"She's got a point, you know? You have a beautiful smart head on your shoulders, but you absolutely suck at sports." Betty laughs as she remembers all those times Jughead tried to participate in any sport at school, failing miserably. She's actually surprised he never broke his neck or any bones for that matter. "But that's okay," she adds reassuringly.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Jughead shakes his head, looking Jellybean straight into the eyes as if daring her to challenge him. "Don't even try to pull my wife on your evil mean side. We're a team, aren't we Betts?"

"Well..." Betty giggles and pretends to hesitate.

"Look at me, babe," he says, taking Betty's hand into his. "One day, I'll give you beautiful babies. With blue eyes and dark hair. Or green eyes and blonde hair. Maybe one of each. Because I love you and we have each other's backs. Especially against bullies like that girl over there calling herself my sister." He sends the raven haired girl a glare that she reciprocates by giving him the finger.

"Ah," Betty lets out an exaggerated sigh. "I'm sorry, Jelly. Jug is right. He's my one and only so I'll always take his side." She smiles up at him and presses a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth, his lips turning upwards in a triumphant smile.

"I'm glad there was no hesitation there." He chuckles and sticks his tongue out at his sister in a childish gesture before diving back into his hotdog.

"What are you kids jabbering about again?" FP asks as he joins them at the table, carrying a cup of tea for himself and a hot chocolate for Jellybean. "I feel left out."

"Jughead is using the power of his penis to get Betty on his side even though I'm right," Jellybean explains and Jughead almost chokes on his hotdog while Betty buries her face in her hands to hide her blush. Jughead might be lacking skills In the sport department, but Jellybean definitely lacks a filter.

"Forget I asked." FP says quickly, hoping to stop his daughter from revealing anything more about their strange sounding conversation. "I think I'd rather not know what you're talking about."

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 **As always, you can find me on tumblr under iamdarkandtwisty**


	12. New Year's Eve

**I know this chapter is totally seasonally inappropriate, but by the time I got to post it with the rest of the holidays related chapters I got stuck on it and my life got busy. Fear not though, while I'm working on several projects at once, this series is back and hopefully will be updated more often again.**

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"I love Ronnie, but I'm so glad she's not here to drag us to some party," Betty says as she snuggles into Jughead's side. It's New Year's Eve and for the first time since they've met Veronica they aren't attending or being coerced into co-hosting a New Year's Eve party. Since neither of them are big on parties they both greatly appreciate it.

"Kudos to Archie for surprising her with that trip to Paris. Though he does make me feel bad about our furthest trip today being to pick up Chinese." Jughead closes his eyes with a sigh. While he's perfectly content with spending most of his free time in their Brooklyn apartment, he wishes he could give Betty more. Show her more. But he's not an heir to any kind of empire, nor is his career growing as quickly as Archie's.

"Hey." Betty places a hand on his cheek, gently turning his face towards her to meet her gaze. She doesn't have to ask to know what he's thinking about. They've had this conversation enough times already. He thinks he ought to give her more. She thinks his presence is the best thing he could give her. "Eating delicious Chinese food while cuddled up underneath a blanket with my husband or spending one of the busiest days of the year far away from home surrounded by hordes of drunk strangers? I can't even pretend to hesitate which one I'd choose." She smiles up at him, letting him know she's more than happy with the way things are. Her mother has always tried to push her into being more sociable and while interacting with people she barely knows is much easier for her than it is for Jughead, most of the time she still prefers spending a quiet evening in with him and maybe their closest friends. Sure, she wouldn't turn down a trip to Paris, but she also doesn't long for it. As long as Jughead is in Brooklyn, it's her favorite place to be.

"We've been married for less than half a year and already sound like an old married couple." He lets out a low chuckle and while he likes to joke about it, poke fun at how they don't seem to fit in with the other couples their age, he loves it. There have been people questioning their relationship, their decision to get married so young. Some were even downright rude, asking how they could know their love is real when they've never been in a relationship with someone else. But Jughead tries to ignore those people. They're probably just jealous that he found the love of his life at sixteen.

"Oh, Juggie, we've been living together for seven years. We were an old married couple long before we were even married." Betty giggles and presses a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. Much like Jughead, she doesn't let herself get bothered by other people's opinions on their relationship. In fact, a small but petty side of her wants to shove it in their faces. "I'm sorry you haven't found your true love, Jane. I know you've been trying really hard in your past ten relationships," she wants to say, but doesn't. Instead, whenever someone starts questioning her relationship with Jughead, she just gives them a wide smile and a cheerful "Aren't we lucky?".

"Marrying you was the best decision I've ever made," Jughead whispers against her lips, his fingers playing with that tiny wisp of hair that escaped her loose bun.

"Well of course it was. I helped you make it." She giggles again.

"You can't let me take the credit for it, can you?" he teases and pokes her in the ribs, making her squirm and laugh.

"Of course not. I'm trying to keep you humble." Betty grins up at him and he leans down to kiss her, but she quickly pulls away. "Thirty seconds!" she exclaims, her eyes suddenly focusing back on the countdown on TV.

Of course. Jughead laughs to himself. No matter when and where they're spending their New Year's Eve, Betty insists on a perfectly timed New Year's kiss. He doesn't know how it differs from the thousands of kisses throughout the year, but it seems to matter to her. And of course, everything that matters to Betty matters to Jughead. So he quietly watches the people on Time Square count down until the famous ball drop, while Betty squeezes his hand in excitement, murmuring the numbers under her breath.

As the big number on the screen changes from six to five, Betty turns towards her husband, placing her hands on the sides of his face, looking up at him with adoration and love. So much love. And then, just as everyone on TV starts yelling Happy New Year, she presses a kiss to his lips. At first slow and tentative, much like the first time they kissed, then deep and passionate, pushing her tongue into his mouth. A low moan escapes his throat as she threads her fingers through his hair and his hands are just about to slip under her sweater when she pulls away again.

"Happy new year, Juggie," she whispers with the widest possible smile and Jughead thinks it must be infectious because he finds himself grinning from ear to ear as well. Maybe there is something special about New Year's kisses after all. Even though they seem to end too quickly.

"Happy new year, Betts," he replies in an equally hushed tone.

"Let's look at the fireworks!" she exclaims, jumping from the couch and hurrying towards the window and despite not wanting to leave his very comfortable position in front of the TV and wanting to continue where they left off, Jughead follows her. He'd follow her anywhere and she knows it.

When he was younger, Jughead used to hope that the New Year would bring a change. Maybe this year his parents would stop yelling at each other. Maybe this year his father would stop drinking. Maybe...

Eventually he understood that if you wanted things to change, you had to do something about it. The date in the calendar wouldn't help you with anything. Now, as he watches Betty's face illuminated by the fireworks going off behind their window, her eyes wide in excitement, he wishes the New Year doesn't bring any change. His life could hardly be better.

Betty leans into Jughead's embrace with a satisfied sigh. The fireworks above the Brooklyn Bridge are slowly stopping and she feels like the time is moving slower, as if allowing her to reminisce on the past year before diving into the new one. And what a year it was. Graduating college, marrying the most wonderful man she's ever met and starting a new chapter of her life with him. Through all the hardships of early adulthood, it's been the best year yet.

They stand there in comfortable silence, watching as the smoke from the fireworks disappears into the cold night air and Betty thinks time might be standing still for a moment when she feels Jughead's hand sneaking up underneath her shirt, lightly caressing her stomach. She doesn't say anything, prompting him to move his hand higher to get a reaction from her when she hears his husky voice and feels his lips brushing her ear, causing goosebumps to break out all over her body. "It's a new year, baby. Wanna start it with a bang?"

"Oh my god!" Betty throws her head back with laughter. "This is the worst pick-up line anyone has ever used on me." While the one and later two rings on her left hand prevent most guys from approaching her, there have been quite a few of them in the recent years who tried. She, of course, was quick to brush them off, but remained entertained by some of the futile attempts at presenting the most overused phrases as if they just invented them.

"Who exactly is trying to pick you up? I'd like to have a word with them." Jughead furrows his brows at the possibility of anyone trying to hit on Betty. While the idea of Betty "belonging" to him makes him feel like a caveman, she is his wife and had been his girlfriend for years before that. She's the love of his life and as long as she'll have him, god help anyone who would try to stand in the way of that.

"Are you jealous, Juggie?" Betty turns around and wraps her arms around his neck, smirking up at him. She knows he prides himself in not having to be jealous. Knowing that no matter what, he can trust her. And she'd never deliberately do anything to make him jealous. Now, however, the little flicker of jealousy she sees on his face excites her.

"No!" He shakes his head in denial, failing to persuade even himself and his hold on her waist tightens, an unusual wave of possessiveness coming over him. "I just don't want any creeps to bother my wife."

"It's okay if you are. It's actually kinda cute." Betty giggles and slowly runs her fingers through his hair, noticing the tension from his body quickly dissolve under her touch. "Just know that you never have to worry about other guys. You're mine and I'm yours. That's just the way it is," her voice is smooth and her finger running along his bottom lip is warm, yet it makes him shiver.

"Only mine," it's barely a whisper, but it doesn't matter whether she heard him, because when their lips touch, his kiss says it better than his words ever could. She is his and he is hers. Nobody else matters.

"Make me see fireworks, Juggie," she mutters between kisses, her fingers grabbing the hem of his shirt ready to pull it up, when he wraps his hands around her thighs, lifting her off the ground with ease.

"You won't be able to see anything after I'm done with you," he growls, hoping it comes out as seductive, but Betty bursts out in laughter once again, burying her face in Jughead's neck.

"You're such a dork," she says when she finally manages to take a breath again and she pulls away slightly, gazing into his blue eyes, now almost completely darkened with lust. "You're such a dork and I love you."

"I love you too, Betts," he replies with a wide grin that only reinforces Betty's words. He's a dork, but only for her. "Can I take you to bed now?"

"Yes, please," she almost squeals in anticipation and wraps her legs around his waist a little tighter. "But maybe leave the dirty talk to me, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jughead nods as he carries her towards the bedroom and presses his lips to hers again, muffling another wave of her giggles. It might be a terrible pick-up line, but he still intends to start another great year with a bang.

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 **You can also find me on tumblr under a recently changed URL i-know-you-can**

 **As always, please leave a comment or any suggestion on what you may want to see in this series. I greatly appreciate it.**


	13. Cereal and Spinach

**This chapter is something I wrote ages ago, but only finished now when it fit into the story better. Hopefully it can soothe the lack of canon Bughead we've had lately.**

 **As always, all the credit for turning my mess into something readable goes to ladybughead This time she's also responsible for the quirky analogical title :D**

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"Do we really need to have five different types of cereal at home at all times?" Betty cocks her eyebrow when Jughead dumps three different cereal boxes into their shopping cart.

"I like to keep my options open." He shrugs, linking his arm with Betty's and pushing the cart forward, heading for the fruit and vegetable section of the grocery store. Not his favorite section if he's being honest. "And that way I can have a different kind for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's perfectly reasonable."

"I don't think it's reasonable to have cereal three times a day." She rolls her eyes, but her lips tugged up into a smile. Grocery shopping with Jughead is always an adventure. Especially when he's hungry, which in his case is more or less a permanent state. He tries to talk her into buying more snacks and junk food every time, arguing that they're adults and they're allowed to treat themselves and Betty counters with a rant on the benefits that non-artificial food could have on his health paired with a good-natured roll of her eyes. As in all the other parts of their lives, they balance each other out perfectly.

"It's a totally different experience when you eat it at different points of the day. You should really give it a try some-"

"Hold that thought." Betty interrupts him when she feels her cellphone vibrating in her bag, five text messages from Veronica lighting up the screen. "Oh, my god!" she exclaims, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What?" Jughead asks and instead of answering Betty hands him her phone. "No way! Archie Andrews actually proposed!" he exclaims in surprise.

"I think Veronica was kinda hoping for it when he suggested a trip to Paris. But I didn't think he actually had it on his mind."

"Being proposed to in Paris. That's so Veronica." Jughead grins, imagining Archie down on one knee at the top of the Eiffel Tower. There is no way it happened anywhere else. "I'm sorry I didn't get to fly you off to a different country to propose to you."

"Don't be silly." Betty smacks his hand lightly. "You know I don't need things like that."

"Still, maybe I could've made it a bit fancier." He lowers his gaze, as if feeling guilty he didn't live up to the standards and for a moment they both reminisce on the night Jughead asked Betty to marry him.

 **1 year ago**

"One more stop," Jughead says as he stops in front of the Andrews' house.

"Archie's house?" Betty raises her eyebrows in confusion. It was their last evening in Riverdale before heading back to New York to get ready for their last year of university and Jughead decided they should reminisce on their past and visit all the places that meant something important to them as a couple. "I don't remember anything significant happening here. Nothing too good anyway," she adds as the memory of Jughead's disastrous birthday party flashes in her mind.

"It's not Archie's house. But it is in his back yard," he says and pulls Betty behind him, heading to the far corner of the yard. "And yes, I told Fred we would come here today and no, he isn't at home." Jughead answers the unspoken questions in Betty's eyes as he sees her scan the dark windows of the house. "Don't worry," he adds with a smirk.

"I'm not worrying. I just don't wanna trespass," she says, trying to appear nonchalant while looking around her to make sure there are no neighbors around that could call the cops on them.

"Is Betty Cooper afraid to break rules?" he teases.

"You know I'm not," she answers, giving him a playful wink. The days when she tried to follow every rule and fulfill her parents' wishes are long gone and Jughead has helped her with that numerous times. "So, why are we here again?"

"Well the tree house, of course," Jughead says when they finally stop in front of the big oak tree and he motions to the old tree house perched high in its branches. "After you, my love." He grins and ushers her up the tree.

"You just wanna look up my skirt," Betty throws over her shoulder as she climbs up.

"I know exactly what's under your skirt," he replies with a cheeky grin, causing Betty to roll her eyes as she tries to suppress her laughter.

"I remember this being much bigger," Betty says as she hauls herself inside, Jughead following right after her.

"Everything seemed bigger when we were five." He chuckles, turning on the camping lantern he had stashed there earlier that day.

"It also seemed less damp and dangerous," she adds as the wooden planks squeak around them.

"I know it's not what it used to be, but this felt like the perfect place to end our trip down memory lane. Don't you think?"

"Why here?" Betty asks in confusion, not sure why Jughead deems the old tree house to be important. It used to be where she, Jughead and Archie used to hang out all the time up until they were about ten, but all the other places they visited tonight were more special to just her and Jughead. Pop's diner where they spent many of their dates, the now abandoned Blue and Gold office that brought them together again, FP's old trailer where they first professed their love for each other and consequently spent their first night together. All places dear to their heart.

"Don't you remember?" Jughead raises his eyebrows, wondering how Betty could forget what he deems to be a crucial moment of his life. "This is where it all started. It's where we met for the first time."

"I remember you being mean when we were introduced." Betty grins, slowly remembering the first time she met the beanie wearing boy. It feels like a lifetime ago and she can hardly remember her life before Jughead was a part of it. "I would hardly call that a good memory."

"Well Archie called me here saying there would be no girls to bother us. And then suddenly there was this girl with blonde pigtails climbing in. I was upset that he lied to me," he explains with laugh. Five year old Jughead had no idea how important that blonde girl would be to him one day.

"You seemed to warm up to me quite quickly once I gave you some of the cookies I brought." Betty smirks, the memory becoming clearer by the second.

"Five-year-old me didn't need much to be persuaded." Jughead shrugs his shoulders with a laugh.

"I'm pretty sure the cookies would still work on you." Betty giggles. The well-known proverb _the way to a man's heart is through his stomach_ has probably never applied more to anyone than it does to her boyfriend.

"If they were offered by you then sure." He grins and takes her hand into his once again. "I've had a soft spot for you ever since that day. Even if it took me ten years to realize what those feelings really meant."

"To be honest, I was pretty blind too. I had no idea you felt like that until the day you climbed through my window." She blushes slightly, still embarrassed for how oblivious she was to Jughead's feelings for her. If only she spent less time obsessing over Archie and more time paying attention to the boy who had eyes for her all along. "I thought you never liked any girls."

Jughead laughs, shaking his head. Though he's not surprised why Betty, or anyone, would think that. "That's because I never liked any other girls. I only ever liked you."

Betty's eyes glisten with tears and she quickly tries to blink them away. She and Jughead have been together for almost six years now and he has told her several times that she's the only girl he has ever been interested in, but she still can't wrap her mind around how lucky she is that he chose her. "How did I get so lucky?"

"If anyone is lucky here, then it's me. Out of all the guys who would be happy to have you, you chose me. The weird, broody friend who was third wheeling with you and Archie all those years." He chuckles. There was a time when talking about Archie was a sore spot for him, but he's no longer the insecure teenager doubting his relationship, anxiously awaiting the moment Betty realizes he's not good enough for her. He knows how much she loves him and god, does he try to prove that he loves her at least as much every day.

"The heart wants what the heart wants." She smiles and brushes away the hair from his face to get a better look at his stormy blue eyes. She never thought someone could look at her with so much adoration, so much love. "And I'm glad my heart chose to love you," she whispers as she leans over to him, capturing his lips with hers in a light kiss. When she pulls away, Jughead's eyes are glassy with tears and she chuckles, wondering when they became such a sappy couple.

"Every day I think it's impossible to love you more," he says and brushes his fingers over the back of Betty's hand, gazing lovingly into her eyes. His heart is racing in his chest, but he knows he can't stop now. He doesn't want to. "But then you say something or just smile at me and I realize that it is possible. When it comes to you, my love seems to have no limits. Here, in this place I met the most important person and..." He takes a deep breath and pulls out a tiny velvet box from the pocket of his jeans. When he opens it, there is a simple golden ring with a little sapphire blue stone in the middle. Betty gasps as she sees it, covering her mouth with her hand, staring at Jughead speechless. She thought their little trip around Riverdale was just him being sentimental, but now it makes so much sense. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asks, his voice trembling slightly, but the look in his eyes says that he has never been more sure of anything in his life.

When she doesn't say anything for half a second Jughead starts panicking. He has known he wants to spend the rest of his life with Betty for ages, but perhaps it's still too early for her and he doesn't want her to feel like he's pushing her into making a decision. "I know that we're young and we don't have to get married right away. But there has never been another girl for me. And there never will be. It's just you. You're it for me, Betty Cooper. And if you want to wait that's fine with me because..." His rambling is interrupted when she pulls him into a deep kiss, her hands cradling his face.

"Yes! Yes, of course I want to marry you!" she yells out excitedly once they pull apart again, happy tears running down her face. "I can't imagine the rest of my life without you by my side."

"Good." Jughead chuckles, pulling the ring from the box and sliding it on her finger. "Because I'm never going anywhere without you."

 **Present**

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," Betty says with a smile, glancing at her left hand, the ring finger now adorned with two rings. When she looks back at Jughead, he's watching her, a small smile splayed on his lips.

"So, what's next on our list, Mrs. Jones?" he asks, nodding his head towards the row of vegetables in front of them.

"Spinach," she replies cheerfully and giggles as Jughead starts grumbling about how something so green shouldn't even be food. Paris or Riverdale, she wouldn't trade what they have for the world.

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 **As always you can find me on tumblr i-know-you-can and feel free to send me any ideas or prompts you may want to see in this story.**


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